Mega plasma ball erupting from sun-like star

A small version of the Sun recently produced an eruption of magnetic plasma gas 10 times larger than any Sun-like star ever seen.

Lead researcher Yuta Notsu, an associate at the Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, US, said the star EK Draconis, which is only about 100 million years old, means it looks like the Sun. of the Earth about 4.5 billion years ago.

The findings suggest that the Sun is capable of producing coronal mass ejections (CMEs) - bubbles of plasma gas - that are larger than any phenomenon directly observed to date. However, because the Sun is older than EK Draconis, it may be quieter, with giant CMEs occurring less frequently and further away from the Sun.

The eruption of magnetic plasma gas is 10 times more massive than that of any Sun-like star.

However, it is important to understand the upper limits of the CME, as these energetic, magnetic eruptions interact with Earth's atmosphere, potentially causing geomagnetic storms. can disrupt satellites, cause power outages, and disrupt the Internet and other means of communication.

CME is also a potential hazard for crewed missions to the moon or Mars. According to NASA, these solar storms release plumes of high-energy particles that could expose anyone outside of Earth's protective magnetic shield to radiation equivalent to 300,000 chest X-rays at the same time. when it can cause death.

Notsu and his colleagues reported in 2019 that. Sun-like stars are capable of producing large bursts of electromagnetic radiation known as superbursts.

The researchers found that young stars like the Sun emit supergiants weekly, while older stars like Earth's Sun produce them less often - perhaps every 1,000 years or longer.

Super flares like these are bursts of electromagnetic radiation that are not dangerous in themselves. But some rates of super outbreaks are followed by large CMEs, which can be dangerous. So Notsu and his team turned to EK Draconis to find out if supernova triggers the main CME in young Sun-like stars.

Before the advent of electronics, solar flares and geomagnetic storms went unnoticed above the Earth's surface. They made the aurorae visible farther than the Earth's poles, but no satellites or mass communications interrupted - although the 1859 flare, known as the Carrington Event, did caused telegraph lines to spark and, in some cases, catch fire.

This new study suggests that the Sun spawned a number of doozies in the distant past. Tree rings around the world recorded a spike in a radioactive form of carbon, carbon-14, in the years 774 and 775.

The new observations by EK Draconis only capture the first phase of CME, Notsu said. And researchers are still not sure how many superbursts end in CME and how many decelerate without plasma explosions. "More observations with different tools can provide a bigger picture," he said.

Studying Sun-like stars at a young age is important not only for planning a potential mass ejection disaster, says Notsu. It is also a window into the past of our Solar System.