coronal mass ejections final ppt emily, sara, ryan and james
TRANSCRIPT
Coronal Mass Ejections
By Ryan, James, Sara, and Emily
What are they?
Balloon shaped bursts of solar wind They rise above solar corona Solar plasma is heated to tens of millions
of degree electrons, protons, and heavy nuclei
accelerated to almost the speed of light
Cont.
Biggest “explosions” in Solar System
- around the power in 1,000,000 hydrogen bombs
Can trigger major disturbances in Earth’s Magnetosphere, (space weather)
Heated CME electrons can move on magnetic field lines faster than solar wind
Pictures
Video’s of CME’s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT-yfWO6jXk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YDKJtZci4M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZZr9TF1qI0&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys9xL3mw8tI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6f4VBXUs_o&feature=related
Effects of Coronal Mass Ejections on Earth
The radiation can alter Earth’s outer atmosphere It disrupts long distance radio The energetic particles pushed by the shock wave
can endanger astronauts and fry satellites When the particles arrive at earth strong
geomagnetic storms, aurora, and electrical power blackouts
Another random video
http://www.windows2universe.org/sun/movies/cme_4jan2002_big_gif_image.html
What causes them
The exact processes are not known One theory for why they occur is that it
happens when conflicting magnetic fields react in the corona and cause a reaction that makes an explosion happen
Solar material churns and throws up huge amounts of charged particles or solar wind
What Causes Them (cont.)
Coronal mass ejections are sometimes in conjunction with a solar flare, but they are not the same thing
The number of coronal mass ejections increases with the numbers of sunspots, so they are probably related
Like earthquakes, they are nearly impossible to predict
How They Happen
Solar plasma is heated to tens of millions of degrees
Charged particles explode out of the corona of the sun in huge bursts, interfering with the solar wind and other effects
It expands as it goes
Bibliography
Reyes, Ralph. "Coronal Mass Ejections." Southwest Resource Institute. 01 Dec 1999. Web. 17 May 2010. http://pluto.space.swri.edu/image/glossary/cme.html
Ewert, Michael. "Solar Flares." Astronomy 162. Astrowiki, n.d. Web. 18 May 2010. http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/sun/flares.html