Questions tagged [cme]

A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a massive burst of solar wind and magnetic fields rising above the solar corona or being released into space, or towards other celestial bodies of the Solar system. They are not to be confused with solar flares (a sudden brightening over the Sun's surface or the solar limb) or sunspots, even though they are often associated with such activities of the Sun. CME are more frequent during or near solar maxima.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
3 votes
0 answers
133 views

How can I derive Starlink specs looking at the incident of February 2022?

I am trying to calculate and speculate the specifications of Starlink satellites (mainly related to propulsion) based on the accident on the 3rd of February 2022. There are multiple sources that ...
Playstation_waifu's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
248 views

How is Parker Solar Probe so robust against coronal mass ejections?

Phys.org's Revealing the physics of the Sun with Parker Solar Probe quotes "Tim Horbury, a lead researcher on Parker Solar Probe's FIELDS instruments based at Imperial College London" as saying: "...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
5 votes
2 answers
159 views

When a coronal mass ejection (CME) hits a spacecraft, from which direction will the particles come?

I have long assumed that when a CME (aka solar mass ejection, SME) hits a spacecraft, its particles will be coming in a straight line from the Sun. I've learned recently that it isn't so direct, and ...
PearsonArtPhoto's user avatar
  • 121k
2 votes
1 answer
56 views

What are the differences between various solar weather terms?

In preparation for my own possible question on solar weather, I searched for past questions on the topic. The past questions suggest that I am not the only person who is confused about the ...
DrSheldon's user avatar
  • 47.9k
2 votes
1 answer
169 views

Could man-made, magnetic shields protect us from from sun's energetic particles from coronal mass ejections?

I read this in a published scholarly article: "...deploying a magnetic shield could enhance Mars' atmosphere and facilitate crewed missions there in the future..." It made me wonder if it is possible ...
Arrrstin's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
35 views

How will PUNCH produce 3D images of CMEs from LEO?

According to the Eureka Alert NASA selects SwRI's PUNCH mission to image beyond the Sun's outer corona: The four spacecraft will fly in a distributed formation spread around the globe, operating in ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
4 votes
1 answer
268 views

Is a coronal mass ejection (CME) synonymous with a solar particle event (SPE)?

Having read the Wiki page, this Space SE answer, and this link, I'm curious: Is a "coronal mass ejection" the same thing as (synonymous with) a "solar particle event"? If not, then what is/are the ...
pr1268's user avatar
  • 143
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

How do solar flares degrade orbits?

What is the mechanism of solar flares that causes degradation of spacecraft orbits? The kind that deorbited Skylab? The proton storm is fairly thin, its pressure shouldn't affect the kinetic energy. ...
SF.'s user avatar
  • 55k
5 votes
1 answer
496 views

How do solar flares and coronal mass ejections create proton storms?

Wikipedia has this to say about solar particle events: A solar particle event (SPE), or "proton storm," occurs when particles (mostly protons) emitted by the Sun become accelerated to very high ...
kim holder's user avatar
  • 21.4k
5 votes
1 answer
430 views

Speed of solar coronal mass ejection

From this video, it appears that material is being flung outward from the limb of the Sun at pretty high speed. Considering that the Sun is some 1.4 million km in diameter, and at least one band seems ...
Anthony X's user avatar
  • 17.5k
8 votes
1 answer
330 views

Why do coronal mass ejections happen on the Sun? Can they affect artificial satellites?

Recently, the Sun has ejected coronal mass particles towards the Earth at a rate of 3.3 million km per hour. Can these particles affect our artificial satellites' signals, and why coronal mass ...
Katz's user avatar
  • 315