SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/aero-cme-plasma-cloud

What is a coronal mass ejection, or CME?

A huge burst of plasma and magnetic field blasted out from the Sun's corona.

Start playing free

  1. A comet crashing into the Sun
  2. A huge cloud of plasma blasted from the Sun ✔
  3. A dark spot that cools the Sun

Why: A CME is a giant cloud of magnetized particles thrown off the Sun. When one heads toward Earth, it can cause geomagnetic storms that disturb GPS, radio, satellites and power grids.

Huh, didn't know that: The fastest Earth-directed CMEs can arrive in as little as 15 to 18 hours.

The dad joke
When the Sun sneezes, we call it a CME. Bless you, Sun.
Like this card?
Play the game

References

Answer: A huge cloud of plasma blasted from the Sun. A CME is a giant cloud of magnetized particles thrown off the Sun. When one heads toward Earth, it can cause geomagnetic storms that disturb GPS, radio, satellites and power grids.

  1. NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, Coronal Mass Ejections www.spaceweather.gov/phenomena/coronal-mass-ejections
    Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s corona.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

Think this answer is wrong? Tap "Challenge this answer" on the card in the game and tell us why.

Test yourself in the game

Flying & DronesAbout how much of the solar system's total mass is in the Sun?Flying & DronesWhat powers the Sun deep in its core?Flying & DronesHow does the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, compare in temperature to the layers below it?

That's stuff everyone should know.