New Research Suggests that Jets and Coronal Mass Ejections May be the Beginning and End of a Solar Eruption Continuum
Retrieved on:
Monday, June 7, 2021
Solar eruptions are commonly categorized as jets or coronal mass ejections, also known as CMEs.
Key Points:
- Solar eruptions are commonly categorized as jets or coronal mass ejections, also known as CMEs.
- The research, presented at the virtual American Astronomical Society meeting in June 2021, shows that these two eruption types may simply be two ends of an eruption continuum.
- Often, the seeds of a solar eruption are sown days or weeks in advance, when two oppositely-charged magnetic fields begin moving away from each other.
- Because this stretching leaves the field lines largely horizontal, they often fill with cool plasma, and become known as solar prominences.