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Solar Superflares: A Disaster Waiting to Happen?
Astronomers spot a massive flare in a nearby solar system. Could the same one day happen to Earth?
Five years ago astronomers confirmed the presence of an Earth-sized planet around Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our own solar system. Interestingly, the planet, named Proxima Centauri B, orbits in a sweet spot: making it warm enough to have oceans of water and possibly a thin atmosphere. That, excited scientists proclaimed, means it could have life.
Unfortunately, the planet is almost certainly dead. Proxima Centauri is a flare star, a type of small but violently active star. Several times a year, Proxima Centauri unleashes a wave of fury on its planets, sending clouds of energetic plasma cascading across its solar system.
Though our Sun occasionally does the same — one such flare was seen in 2012, and another in 1859 — they are rare and weak enough for our planet to pass through almost unscathed. The Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field, one that deflects many of the energetic particles coming from the Sun. Big solar flares may cause dramatic aurora across the planet, but they are not a major threat to life.
The story for Proxima Centauri is rather different. The star is much smaller than our own — it is a red…
