coronal mass ejection

coronal mass ejection

n.

A very large emission of plasma from the sun that disrupts the flow of the solar wind, sometimes interfering with the operation of artificial satellites, electronic communications, and electric power transmission on the Earth.

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coronal mass ejection  (kôr-nl, kr-, k-rnl)

A massive, bubble-shaped burst of plasma expanding outward from the Sun's corona, in which large amounts of superheated particles are emitted at nearly the speed of light. The emissions can cause disturbances in the solar wind that disrupt satellites and create powerful magnetic storms on Earth. They were first observed in the early 1970s, when photographs taken from satellites revealed coronal activity that could not be seen in images taken from Earth.