Coronal Mass Ejections

Coronal Mass Ejections (shown left) and solar flares are extremely large explosions on the photosphere. They occur near sunspots, usually at the dividing line between areas of oppositely directed magnetic fields. Hot matter called plasma interacts with the magnetic field sending a burst of plasma up and away from the Sun in the form of a flare. Solar flares emit x-rays and magnetic fields which bombard the Earth as geomagnetic storms.