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Ejecta

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Synonyms

Pyroclastics (in volcanology)

Definition

Ejecta is solid, liquid, or gaseous material ejected from a source region. Three different kinds of ejecta exist: impact ejecta, volcanic ejecta (or pyroclastics), and (stellar) ejecta. Impact ejecta is solid, liquid, or vaporized rock debris ejected ballistically from a crater during a meteoritic or cometary impact. These ejecta can be dispersed around the crater and form specific patterns or partially build the crater rim. The volcanic ejecta is rock debris ejected by an explosive volcano and normally grouped in the more general term pyroclastics. In astrophysics, ejecta is the material expelled from a star, either quiescently (e.g., in coronal mass ejection or through the wind of an evolved star, like a red giant or an AGB star) or in a stellar explosion like in a supernova or nova.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GEOTOP Research Center for Geochemistry and Geodynamics, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, succ. Centre-Ville, H3C 3P8, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Daniele L. Pinti

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  1. Daniele L. Pinti
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Correspondence to Daniele L. Pinti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Pinti, D.L. (2014). Ejecta. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1857-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1857-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Ejecta
    Published:
    16 November 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1857-4

  2. Original

    Ejecta
    Published:
    24 April 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1857-3

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