‘Superflares’ of energy emitted by stars could one day disrupt gadgets, short communications satellites and cause dangerous blackouts here on Earth, expert warns
- Hunting for distant worlds, experts saw stars releasing colossal bursts of energy
- These ‘superflares’ are like solar flares, but thousands of times more powerful
- Researchers studied superflares that were produced by 43 stars like our Sun
- They found that the Sun likely superflares every few thousand years on average
Around every thousand years, our Sun emits powerful bursts of radiation that will cause blackouts, electrical failures and communication breakdowns worldwide.
Dubbed ‘superflares’, these energy bursts have been spotted coming from distant stars — but it was not certain whether they could be made by stars as old as our Sun.
Studying superflares observed from 43 Sun-like stars, researchers found that while superflares are more common on younger stars, our Sun can still produce them.
There is a possibility that we could experience a superflare within the next 100 years or so, experts warn — a risk that calls for increased protection for electronic systems.
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Around every thousand years, our Sun emits a powerful bursts of radiation that will cause blackouts, electrical failures and communication breakdowns worldwide
Solar flares are brilliant flashes of light, often accompanied by the release of plasma, that come from the surface of a star and are are common occurrence on the Sun.
While hunting for planets around distant stars using the Kepler Space Telescope, however, NASA scientists noticed that far-flung stars can on rare occasions release bursts of energy that are similar to flares, but up to thousands of times more intense.
Scientists dubbed these events ‘superflares’ — and, as it remains unclear exactly how they are triggered, have wondered whether they ever take place on our local star, the Sun.
If the Sun emitted a superflare, the resulting blast of high-energy radiation hitting the earth would disrupt electronics across the globe, cause widespread blackouts and short out communications satellites in orbit.
‘When our Sun was young, it was very active because it rotated very fast and probably generated more powerful flares,’ said astronomer Yuta Notsu, who is a visiting researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder.
‘But we didn’t know if such large flares occur on the modern Sun with very low frequency.’
To investigate, Dr Notsu and his colleagues from Japan, the US and the Netherlands studied superflares detected from 43 Sun-like stars using data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft and New Mexico’s Apache Point Observatory.
Younger stars produce the most superflares, the researchers found.
However, the study revealed that older stars like our Sun — which is currently somewhere around its 4.6 billionth birthday — can still produce superflares as well.
‘Young stars have superflares once every week or so,’ Dr Notsu said.
‘For the Sun, it’s once every few thousand years on average.’
Given this, he explained, even though superflares are rare events for stars like our Sun, ‘there is some possibility that we could experience such an event in the next 100 years or so.’
There is a possibility that we could experience a superflare within the next 100 years or so, experts warn — a risk that calls for increased protection for electronic systems. Pictured, the systems at risk from solar radiation
‘If a superflare occurred 1,000 years ago, it was probably no big problem,’ Dr Notsu said, explaining that people may have seen a large aurora as a result of the event.
‘Now, it’s a much bigger problem because of our electronics,’ he added.
Researchers are unsure when the next superflare will hit Earth — but are certain that one will eventually come.
Dr Notsu hopes that the warning might give humanity time to prepare by developing shielding to protect electronics on the ground and in orbit from these bursts of stellar radiation.
The full findings of the study were published in the The Astrophysical Journal.
