A massive burst of solar plasma and magnetic field released from the Sun's corona into space. These events can disrupt satellite communications, power grids, and create intense auroras when they reach Earth.
The term combines 'coronal' from Latin 'corona' (crown, referring to the Sun's outer atmosphere), 'mass' from Latin 'massa' (lump or bulk), and 'ejection' from Latin 'ejicere' (to throw out). The phenomenon was first observed during solar eclipse studies and became well-understood with space-based solar observations in the 1970s.
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