corona

Corona is a term with several distinct meanings across science, culture, and geography. In astronomy, the corona is the Sun’s outer atmosphere, extending far beyond the visible disk. It is extremely hot and tenuous, and it gives rise to the solar wind and coronal mass ejections. The corona is visible as a bright halo during total solar eclipses and is a key subject of solar physics.

In virology, coronaviruses are a family of enveloped RNA viruses named for their crown-like spikes when viewed under an electron microscope. They infect a wide range of animals and humans, causing illnesses from the common cold to more severe diseases. Notable members include SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, with SARS-CoV-2 responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2019.

The word corona comes from Latin coron(a) meaning crown and is used in various contexts to denote crown-like shapes or concepts. In biology and anatomy, it can describe crown-shaped structures; in other settings, it appears in brand names and place names, reflecting the figurative sense of a crown.

Culturally, Corona is most widely associated with Corona Extra, a pale lager produced in Mexico since the 1920s and exported internationally. The term also appears as a geographic name in several regions, including Corona, California and other locales, illustrating its broad and international usage.