Coronal mass ejection (CME)

Coronal mass ejections are huge gusts in what is known as the solar wind that may sometimes have dramatic effects here on Earth. The gusts travel at speeds between 500 and 1500 km/s, taking 2 or 3 days to cross the 150 million km divide separating the Sun and Earth. A single CME may involve a mass of more than a billion tons of plasma.

Large CME's directed towards the Earth are called 'halo events'. There is much anxiety in the satellite fraternity, every time that happens.

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