A CME, one type of "solar storm", erupts from the Sun in January 2002. The actual disc of the Sun, indicated by the white circle, is hidden in this view through an instrument called a coronagraph. The coronagraph creates an artificial eclipse by blocking the too-bright light from the Sun's surface, allowing us to view the Sun's dimmer atmosphere.
Click on image for full size
Images courtesy SOHO (NASA & ESA). Animation by Windows to the Universe staff (Randy Russell).

Coronal Mass Ejections

"Without warning, the relatively calm solar atmosphere can be torn asunder by sudden outbursts of a scale unknown on Earth. Catastrophic events of incredible energy...stretch up to halfway across the visible solar surface, suddenly and unpredictably open up and expel their contents, defying the Sun's enormous gravity." (Sun, Earth, and Sky by Kenneth R. Lang)

These catastrophic events that the author is speaking about are coronal mass ejections (CME's).

Coronal mass ejections are explosions in the Sun's corona that spew out solar particles. The CME's typically disrupt helmet streamers in the solar corona. As much as 1x10^13 (10,000,000,000,000) kilograms of material can be ejected into the solar wind. Coronal mass ejections propagate out in the solar wind, where they may encounter the Earth and influence geomagnetic activity.

CME's are believed to be driven by energy release from the solar magnetic field. How this energy release occurs, and the relationship between different types of solar activity, is one of the many puzzles facing solar physicists today.

CME's can seriously disrupt the Earth's environment. Intense radiation from the Sun, which arrives only 8 minutes after being released, can alter the Earth's outer atmosphere, disrupting long-distance radio communications and deteriorating satellite orbits. Very energetic particles pushed along by the shock wave of the CME can endanger astronauts or fry satellite electronics. These energetic particles arrive at the Earth (or Moon) about an hour later. The actual coronal mass ejection arrives at the Earth one to four days after the initial eruption, resulting in strong geomagnetic storms, aurorae and electrical power blackouts. All of these solar-terrestrial interactions are forecasted and monitored by the those who work in the space weather area.

Coronal mass ejections will become more and more frequent as we near solar maximum. CME's, not discovered until the 1970's, are difficult to detect. That is why we need satellites such as the ACE satellite which acts as a spaceweather station while in orbit. ACE can provide a one-hour advance warning of any geomagnetic storms that would affect the Earth.

"Thus, the Sun's sudden and unexpected outbursts remain as unpredictable as most human passions. They just keep on happening, and even seem to be necessary to purge the Sun of pent-up frustration and to relieve it of twisted, contorted magnetism." (Kenneth R. Lang, Sun, Earth and Sky)

Last modified March 29, 2010 by Randy Russell.

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Helmet Streamers and the Magnetic Structure of the Corona

The gas in the solar corona is at very high temperatures (typically 1-2 million kelvins in most regions) so it is almost completely in a plasma state (made up of charged particles, mostly protons and electrons)....more

The Solar Corona

Rising above the Sun's chromosphere , the temperature jumps sharply from a few tens of thousands of kelvins to as much as a few million kelvins in the Sun's outer atmosphere, the solar corona. Understanding...more

Spiral Path of Material

For a planet to be affected by a blob of material being ejected by the sun, the planet must be in the path of the blob, as shown in this picture. The Earth and its magnetosphere are shown in the bottom...more

More on Recent Coronal Mass Ejection

During a period of about two days in early May, 1998, the ACE spacecraft was immersed in plasma associated with a coronal mass ejection (CME). The SWICS instrument on ACE, which determines unambiguously...more

Ulysses Going Strong During Solar Maximum

The Ulysses space probe has begun to investigate the Sun during solar maximum. In September of 2000, Ulysses began to creep around the underside of the Sun. Ulysses has passed this way before, but during...more

Sunspots

Sunspots are dark, planet-sized regions that appear on the "surface" of the Sun. Sunspots are "dark" because they are cooler than their surroundings. A large sunspot might have a central temperature of...more

Solar Prominence

Large impressive loop-like structures on the edge of the solar disk sometimes stand out brightly against the dark background of space. Though these structures, called "prominences", appear to be very bright...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA