coronal mass ejection

noun

Definition of coronal mass ejection

: a tremendous outburst of energy from the corona of the sun that can cause disruptions in the earth's geomagnetic field As they had for the January eruption, the researchers relied on an armada of spacecraft to track the disturbance, known as a coronal mass ejection because it originates in the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona.— R. Cowen —abbreviation CME — compare solar flare

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Scientists would also like to better predict coronal mass ejections and to understand what kinds of particles are feeding these ejections. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "After 20 years of planning, ambitious Solar mission about to launch," 10 Aug. 2018 But special circumstances — such as coronal holes and giant explosions of solar plasma called coronal mass ejections — can extend the intensity and the reach of these dazzling light displays. — Mike Wall, Space.com, "Hole in Sun's Atmosphere Amps Up Northern Lights," 11 Sep. 2018 Scientists are keen to better understand the solar wind (and larger bursts called coronal mass ejections) in part because of how this all affects space weather above the Earth, which can disrupt the function of satellites and other spacecraft. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "After 20 years of planning, ambitious Solar mission about to launch," 10 Aug. 2018 Another concern is that red dwarfs can be particularly active stars with stellar eruptions, flares, and coronal mass ejections bombarding the nearby planets with radiation. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Seven Earth-Like Planets Orbit One Nearby Star," 22 Feb. 2017 Youngblood points out that their modeling assumes the flares from the star include powerful events called coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which would have a more destructive effect on a planet's magnetic fields and ozone layer. — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, "An Ultra-Powerful Flare Erupted From Our Nearest Neighbor Star," 10 Apr. 2018 The largest of these storms come as a result of the release of plasma from the Sun’s corona, called coronal mass ejections, that arrive at Earth and disturb its magnetic fields. — Jennifer Calfas, Time, "A Solar Storm Could Bring Spectacular Northern Lights Tonight. Here’s How You Can See Them," 14 Mar. 2018 Anew study, from a variety of French universities including École Polytechnique Centre de Physique Théorique (CRNS), looks at coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which occur at the outermost region of the star. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "New Model Shows Just How Strong Solar Flares Could Get," 8 Feb. 2018 The same process can also hurl a coronal mass ejection, a stream of plasma and magnetic radiation, into space. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "NASA Captures Strongest Solar Flare in a Decade," 6 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'coronal mass ejection.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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8 Dec 2018

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