Recent research, however, has suggested that on the sun, this sequence of events may be relatively sedate, at least so far as scientists have observed. Notsu explained that coronal mass ejections often come right after a star lets loose a flare, or a sudden and bright burst of radiation that can extend far out into space. “This observation may help us to better understand how similar events may have affected Earth and even Mars over billions of years.” Superflares erupt “This kind of big mass ejection could, theoretically, also occur on our sun,” Notsu said. The event may serve as a warning of just how dangerous the weather in space can be. In April 2020, the team observed EK Draconis ejecting a cloud of scorching-hot plasma with a mass in the quadrillions of kilograms-more than 10 times bigger than the most powerful coronal mass ejection ever recorded from a sun-like star. In that research, Namekata, Nostu 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. The new study, led by Kosuke Namekata of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and formerly a visiting scholar at CU Boulder, also suggests that they can get a lot worse. Note: the Earth is not this close to the sun, this image is for scale purposes only.
Image of the Earth to scale with the filament eruption.
And they’re potentially bad news: If a coronal mass ejection hit Earth dead on, it could fry satellites in orbit and shut down the power grids serving entire cities. Notsu explained that the sun shoots out these sorts of eruptions on a regular basis-they’re made up of clouds of extremely-hot particles, or plasma, that can hurtle through space at speeds of millions of miles per hour. The study explores a stellar phenomenon called a “coronal mass ejection,” sometimes known as a solar storm. The researchers, including astrophysicist Yuta Notsu of the University of Colorado Boulder, will publish their results today (December 9, 2021) in the journal Nature Astronomy. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight CenterĪstronomers spying on a stellar system located dozens of lightyears from Earth have, for the first time, observed a troubling fireworks show: A star, named EK Draconis, ejected a massive burst of energy and charged particles much more powerful than anything scientists have seen in our own solar system. This magnificent coronal mass ejection from our sun occured in 2012.
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