What's the difference between a solar flare & coronal mass ejection ?

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What's the difference between a solar flare & coronal mass ejection ?

Or are they the same thing ??

2007-02-26 02:58:24 · 3 answers · asked by Chef Dane 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space

3 answers

Flares fall back to the sun from gravity. CME's get flung off and fly away. Other than that I believe they are the same material.

2007-02-26 04:09:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋

A flare is an explosion in the Sun's atmosphere and a coronal mass ejection is the mass that gets thrown off into space as a result.

2007-02-26 11:08:10 · answer #2 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋

I think that the main difference is size. A flare is a common occurrence, and is relatively small (flares are often bigger than the Earth, so small is relative here).

The mass ejection, I think, is a really big flare.

2007-02-26 11:06:02 · answer #3 · answered by Randy G 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋