Ejecta (from the Latin: "things thrown out", singular ejectum) are particles ejected from an area. In volcanology, in particular, the term refers to particles that came out of a volcanic vent, traveled through the air or under water, and fell back on the ground surface or on the ocean floor. Ejecta can consist of:
In planetary geology, this term includes the debris that is ejected during the formation of an impact crater, while in astrophysics, it refers to material expelled in a stellar explosion as in a supernova or in a coronal mass ejection.
A lack of impact ejecta around the planet Mars surface feature Eden Patera was on of the reasons for suspecting it was collapsed volcanic caldera not an impact crater in the 2010s.