 Coronal mass ejection

A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is a significant release of plasma and magnetic fields from the solar corona, which is the outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere. CMEs are often associated with solar flares and active regions, but they can occur independently as well. During a CME, large quantities of solar material (primarily electrons and protons) are expelled into space at high speeds, sometimes reaching millions of kilometers per hour.