A solar flare or solar limb is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun's surface. It is a large energy release of up to 6 × 10 joules of energy. The energy is about a sixth of the total energy that is released from the Sun each second equal to 160,000,000,000 megatons of TNT. It can also be compared with the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter. The release is then followed by a colossal coronal mass ejection also known as a CME. The first flare releases clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona of the Sun into space. These clouds usually reach planet Earth a day or two after this has happened. A solar flare is sometimes referred to another phenomena in other stars, such as stellar flare.