National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
–
Illustrated depiction of the star EK Draconis emitting a coronal mass ejection as the two planets orbit.
–
Nationalgeographic.co.id—When astronomers spy on a star system located tens of light years from Earth, for the first time, they get a disturbing fireworks display: A star, named EK Draconis, emits a massive burst of energy and charged particles far more powerful than any other star. anything scientists have ever seen in our own solar system.
The researchers, including astrophysicist Yuta Notsu of the University of Colorado Boulder, published the results of their study on December 9, 2021 in the journal Nature Astronomy by giving the title Probable detection of an eruptive filament from a superflare on a solar-type star. This research was conducted in collaboration with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, University of Hyogo, Kyoto University, Kobe University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, University of Tokyo, and Doshisha University.
The study explores a stellar phenomenon called “coronal mass ejection,” or what we know as solar storms. Notsu explained that the sun emits eruptions of this kind on a regular basis, they are composed of clouds of extremely hot particles, or plasma, that can glide rapidly through space at millions of miles per hour. And, that has the potential to be bad news: If this coronal mass ejection hits Earth to death, it could fry a satellite in orbit and shut down the power grid that serves entire cities.
“Coronal mass ejections often occur right after a young star loses a flare or a sudden, bright burst of radiation that can extend far into space.” said Yuta Notsu, research associate in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at CU Boulder and the US National Solar Observatory, as reported by Tech Explorist.
“This coronal mass ejection can have a serious impact on Earth and human society,” he said.
The new study, led by Kosuke Namekata of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and a former visiting researcher at CU Boulder, also suggests they could be much worse.
In the study, Namekata, Notsu and their colleagues used telescopes on the ground and in space to peer at EK Draconis, which looks like a young version of the sun. In April 2020, the team observed EK Draconis emitting a scorching hot plasma cloud with a mass in the quadrillion kilograms – more than 10 times greater than the most powerful coronal mass ejection ever recorded from a sun-like star.
This event can serve as a warning of how dangerous the weather in space is.
Also Read: Aliens Might Use Stars to Communicate With Each Other
NASA
–
The sun may also be capable of doing super extreme things like the young star found.
–
“This kind of large mass ejection, theoretically, could also occur in our sun. These observations could help us to better understand how similar events might affect Earth and even Mars over billions of years.” said Notsu.
Recent research, however, has suggested that on the sun, this sequence of events may be relatively quiet, at least as far as scientists observe. In 2019, for example, Notsu and his colleagues published a study showing that young, sun-like stars in nearby galaxies seem to experience frequent superflare-as solar flare our own but tens or even hundreds of times stronger.
“Superflares are much bigger than the flares we see from the sun. So we suspect that they will also produce a much larger mass ejection. But as of now, that’s just conjecture.” Notsu said.
Such superflares, theoretically, could also occur in Earth’s sun but not very often, perhaps once every few thousand years. However, it did make Notsu’s team curious: Could a superflare also cause the same super-coronal mass ejection?
To find out, the researchers set their sights on EK Draconis. The curious star, Notsu explains, is about the same size as our sun, but, at 100 million years old, it’s relatively young in the cosmic sense.
“That’s what our sun was like 4.5 billion years ago,” said Notsu.
Use Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) NASA and Kyoto University’s SEIMEI Telescope observed the star for 32 nights in winter and spring 2020. On April 5, they saw the eruption of a large superflare. About 30 minutes later, the team observed what appeared to be ejections of coronal mass flying away from the star’s surface. Scientists have only been able to capture the first step in the ejection’s life, which is called the “filament eruption” phase. But even so, it was a monster, moving at a top speed of roughly 1 million miles per hour.
Also Read: Astronomers Find First Evidence Of Newborn Planet
Victor Habbick Visions/Science Photo Library/Getty Images
–
A solar flare, which can have an impact on Earth’s environment, is a magnetic burst on the sun’s surface.
–
Notsu noted that large mass ejections were probably much more common in the early years of the solar system. Giant coronal mass ejections, in other words, could have helped shape planets like Earth and Mars into what they are today.
“Mars’ current atmosphere is very thin compared to Earth’s,” said Notsu. “In the past, we thought that Mars had a much thicker atmosphere. The coronal mass ejection could help us understand what happened to the planet over billions of years.” he added.
Obviously, this doesn’t bode well for life on Earth, because this finding warns us that the sun may also be capable of such super extreme things. At least, for now our sun is still quite safe.
Also Read: Astronomers Find Rare Class Of Radio Stars Hotter Than The Sun
PROMOTED CONTENT
Featured Videos
– .
