Dutch researchers first to observe solar flares from star other than our Sun
An international team of astronomers led by Dutch and French researchers was the first to observe plasma ejections and solar flares on a star outside of our solar system. Researchers have long believed that coronal mass ejections (CMEs) - large eruptions of magnetized plasma - observed on our Sun also occur on other stars, but this is the first time it has been confirmed. “This gives us a chance to move beyond theory based solely on the Sun,” said lead researcher Dr. Joseph Callingham of ASTRON.
The researchers, led by the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) and Observatoire de Paris-PSL, observed the intense burst of radio waves from a red dwarf star located 130 light-years away using Europe’s powerful LOFAR telescope. Red dwarf stars have 10 to 50% of the mass of our Sun and are the most common hosts of Earth-mass planets, which could be habitable. The researchers published the results of their study in the science journal Nature.
“This discovery shows us that violent space weather is not unique to our Sun,” said Dr. Cyril Tasse of the Observatoire de Paris-PSL, the co-lead researcher in this study. “We now know planets around small stars are facing frequent, powerful blasts. Thanks to advanced data-processing methods developed at the Observatoire de Paris-PSL, we now have a way to measure just how extreme those conditions are.”
Because the planets orbiting Red Dwarf stars are closer to the star, they likely face far more intense stellar storms than Earth does. According to Dr. Callingham, the plasma eruption observed would be devastating for a planet around the star.
“The CME has the power to compress an Earth-like magnetosphere all the way down to the planet’s surface, temporarily removing the planet’s atmospheric protection. This means such eruptions could determine whether a planet is potentially habitable,” Dr. Callingham
According to the researchers, their findings open a new window into the study of space weather in other solar systems and can have major implications for the search for life-accommodating planets.
