Number 167 (Story #1), March 3, 1994 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS VS. SOLAR FLARES . John Gosling of Los Alamos believes that many strong solar phenomena such as geomagnetic storms and shock waves in the solar wind are actually a result of coronal mass ejections (CME's) and not solar flare activity. During a CME up to 10**16 grams of matter from the corona (the very hot region above the sun's surface) are thrown out into space at speeds up to 1200 km/sec. The appearance of CME's, like that of other solar phenomena, is related to the 11-year solar cycle, and indeed some CME's and flares (and other eruptions) appear at nearly the same time. Gosling contends, however, that a careful analysis of the intensity, energy, and temporal characteristics of many prominent events in the solar-terrestrial environment shows that they are caused by CME's, not by flares. CME's are poorly understood, Gosling says, because they are difficult to measure, particularly Earth-bound ejections (those which would have the greatest effect on the near-Earth space environment) which proceed amid the glare of sunlight. (Nature, 17 Feb. 1994.)