This article is about the extrasolar phenomenon on solar-type stars. For other uses, see Super flare (disambiguation).
Strong explosion observed on stars
Superflares are very strong explosions observed on stars with energies up to ten thousand times that of typical solar flares. The stars in this class satisfy conditions which should make them solar analogues, and would be expected to be stable over very long time scales.
The original nine candidates were detected by a variety of methods. No systematic study was possible until the launch of the Kepler space telescope, which monitored a very large number of solar-type stars with very high accuracy for an extended period. This showed that a small proportion of stars had violent outbursts. In many cases there were multiple events on the same star. Younger stars were more likely to flare than old ones, but strong events were seen on stars as old as the Sun.
The flares were initially explained by postulating giant planets in very close orbits, such that the magnetic fields of the star and planet were linked. The orbit of the planet would warp the field lines until the instability released magnetic field energy as a flare. However, no such planet has showed up as a Kepler transit and this theory has been abandoned.
All superflare stars show quasi-periodic brightness variations interpreted as very large starspots carried round by rotation. Spectroscopic studies found spectral lines that were clear indicators of chromospheric activity associated with strong and extensive magnetic fields. This suggests that superflares only differ in scale from solar flares.
Attempts have been made to detect past solar superflares from nitrate concentrations in polar ice, from historical observations of auroras, and from those radioactive isotopes that can be produced by solar energetic particles. Although three events and a few candidates have been found in the carbon-14 records in tree rings, it is not possible to associate them definitely with superflare events.
Solar superflares would have drastic effects, especially if they occurred as multiple events. Since they can occur on stars of the same age, mass and composition as the Sun this cannot be ruled out, but no indication of solar superflares have been found for the past ten millennia. However, solar-type superflare stars are very rare and are magnetically much more active than the Sun; if solar superflares do occur, it may be in well-defined episodes that occupy a small fraction of its time.
Superflares are very strong explosions observed on stars with energies up to ten thousand times that of typical solar flares. The stars in this class...
Sun had also been seen to undergo flare events prior to the flood of superflare data from the Kepler observatory. It has been proposed that the mechanism...
is now so included in the List of IAU approved Star Names. In 2016, a superflare was observed from Proxima Centauri, the strongest flare ever seen. The...
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Shibata, Kazunari (15 Apr 2015). "Superflares on Solar Type Stars and Their Implications on the Possibility of Superflares on the Sun" (PDF). 2015 Space Weather...
net. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2022-04-02. "Superflares could kill unprotected astronauts". New Scientist. 21 March 2005. Archived...
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Whether the physics of solar flares is similar to that of even larger superflares is still unclear. The Sun may differ in important ways such as size and...
(link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as far south as...
Hyder flare Moreton wave Neupert effect Sun in culture Sun in fiction Superflare "Solar Flares (Radio Blackouts)". NOAA/NWS Space Weather Prediction Center...
distance as Pluto is from the Sun). The system made news in 2000 when a superflare was observed in the system. A third star, component C, has been observed...
Super flare may refer to: Superflare, an extremely large stellar flare on a solar-type star Solar flare generally, especially a large solar flare Carrington...
the original on 11 August 2023. Battersby, Stephen (21 March 2005). "Superflares could kill unprotected astronauts". New Scientist. Gueguinou, N.; Huin-Schohn...
in the 1970s and with later X-ray observatories. In December 2005, a superflare was detected by the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission. It was the largest...
1126/science.340.6136.1031. PMID 23723213. Battersby, Stephen (21 March 2005). "Superflares could kill unprotected astronauts". New Scientist. Lockwood, Mike; M...
cold phases over the past 120,000 years. Another idea is that a solar superflare may have been responsible for the megafaunal extinction that occurred...
Concept Chrysler Cirrus Concept Dodge EPIC Ford Connecta (Ghia) Ford F-150 SuperFlare Concept General Motors Ultralite Hyundai HCD-1 Lincoln Marque X Oldsmobile...
which are 10,000 times more powerful than the 1859 Carrington event. The superflares may be triggered by close-orbiting Jupiter-sized planets. The Transit...
increases in brightness at random intervals. On April 23, 2014, a gamma-ray superflare event was observed by the Swift satellite coming from the position of...
Atlantic. Retrieved August 31, 2022. Battersby, Stephen (March 21, 2005). "Superflares could kill unprotected astronauts". New Scientist. Reed Business Information...
racing in third place behind Mozu Superflare and Bien Fait made a forward move entering the straight, overtook Mozu Superflare 150 metres from the finish and...
Pollacco, D. L. (2016). "The host stars of Kepler's habitable exoplanets: superflares, rotation and activity". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society...
and XMM-Newton observations of an RS CVn-type eclipsing binary SZ Psc: superflare and coronal properties", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society...
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