stellar flares tagged posts

A groundbreaking study has revealed that red dwarf stars can produce stellar flares that carry far-ultraviolet (far-UV) radiation levels much higher than previously believed. This discovery suggests that the intense UV radiation from these flares could significantly impact whether planets around red dwarf stars can be habitable. Led by current and former astronomers from the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy (IfA), the research was recently published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

“Few stars have been thought to generate enough UV radiation through flares to impact planet habitability...

Artist’s impression of the planet orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri. Credit: ESO

Dimitra Atri, an astrobiologist with the Blue Marble Institute of Space Science, has run simulations of planet Proxima b, an exoplanet circling the star Proxima Centauri, which could possibly support life. Last August, a team of scientists identified a planet circling Proxima Centauri—at 4.2 light-years away, the red dwarf is the closet star to our own sun and the discovery of a planet in its Goldilocks zone excited the astronomy community because it represented the possibility extraterrestrial life. Since that time, Atri has created and run simulations meant to measure the impact of stellar flares on the planet and whether they might be enough to prevent or allow life to exist on the planet.

Pr...