A Coronal Mass Ejection
(CME)
A CME is a
cloud of hot magnetized gas, weighing billions of tons, which is launched from the Sun at a speed up to millions of miles per hour. The CME shown in the sequence at the right was launched over an 8-hour period in 1996.
CMEs are
caused by the breaking apart
of magnetic forces. These occur
almost every day, but most go off
in other directions, not toward Earth.
