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Motion of a Coronal Mass Ejection by Christian J. Mercado

A bright looping burst of material flows off the Sun.
Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are immense clouds of magnetized particles blasted into space by the Sun at over a million miles per hour, often following after a solar flare. CMEs expand as they sweep through space, often measuring millions of miles across. When directed at Earth, a CME can produce geomagnetic disturbances that ignite bright auroras, short-circuit satellites, and power grids on Earth, or at their worst, even endanger astronauts in orbit.
Levels
  • Advanced (9-12+)
Material Type
  • Activity/Hands-on
  • Lesson Plan
Heliophysics Big Ideas
  • Big Idea 3.1 – The Sun is made of churning plasma…
NGSS
  • PS2 - Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
Heliophysics Topics
  • Coronal Mass Ejection
  • Corona
  • Plasma
  • Sun
  • Sunspot
Heliophysics Missions
  • Parker Solar Probe
  • Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
  • Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
Material Cost per Learner Free
Language English

In this 5E lesson, high school students will learn about coronal mass ejection (CME) processes that take place in the sun.