Small star unleashes monster flare
Believe it or not, the image above is a photograph, not a computer generated image!
The star above is called EV Lacertae, and it is smaller and younger than our Sun. However, the flares that are coming from it are the largest and most powerful ever recorded!
For many years scientists have known that our sun gives off powerful explosions, known as flares, that contain millions of times more energy than atomic bombs.
But when astronomers compare flares from the sun to flares on other stars, the sun’s flares lose. On April 25, 2008, NASA’s Swift satellite picked up a record-setting flare from a star known as EV Lacertae. This flare was thousands of times more powerful than the greatest observed solar flare. But because EV Lacertae is much farther from Earth than the sun, the flare did not appear as bright as a solar flare. Still, it was the brightest flare ever seen from a star other than the sun.
What makes the flare particularly interesting is the star. EV Lacertae is much smaller and dimmer than our sun. In other words, a tiny, wimpy star is capable of packing a very powerful punch.
How can such a small star produce such a powerful flare? The answer can be found in EV Lacertae’s youth. Whereas our sun is a middle-aged star, EV Lacertae is a toddler. The star is much younger than our sun, and is still spinning rapidly. The fast spin, together with its churning interior, whips up gases to produce a magnetic field that is much more powerful than the sun’s magnetic field.
Image Credit: Casey Reed/NASA
Man, stars are so much prettier than Earth.
UPDATE: I’m an idiot and I thought this was a photograph. What was I thinking?!
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June 6th, 2008 at 3:18 am
woah, that is awesome!
June 6th, 2008 at 9:13 am
um,…. this is not a photograph. it IS a computer generated image. our satellites cannot image extrasolar objects with this type of resolution. Nor can we get this type of color. Heck, we might not be able to get Jupiter to look this good. Even though Jupiter is a quarter to half the size of this red dwarf, it’s 20,000 times closer.
Doobybrain reply on June 6th, 2008 10:03 am:
you’re right. i’ll fix that statement on this post. i think i was tired when i posted this and didn’t realize how ridiculous my sentence was. thanks!
June 6th, 2008 at 9:14 am
it is an awesome looking image, though.
June 6th, 2008 at 11:56 am
HAAAAAAAAAA. i believed you.
Doobybrain reply on June 6th, 2008 11:58 am:
i believed myself!