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Space Telescope Catches Monster Flare

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the big-boom dept.

gollum123 writes, "NASA's Swift satellite has seen a giant flare explode from a nearby star. Our sun also flares when twisted magnetic field lines in the solar atmosphere suddenly snap — but this was on a far larger scale, perhaps 100 million times as strong. The energy released by the explosion on II Pegasi was equivalent to about 50 quintillion atomic bombs. If the Sun were ever to produce such an outburst, it would almost certainly cause a mass extinction on Earth. II Pegasi is a binary system 135 light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. Its two stars are close, only a few stellar radii apart; as a result, tidal forces cause both stars to spin quickly, rotating in lockstep once in seven days compared to the Sun's 28-day rotation period. Fast rotation is thought to be conducive to strong stellar flares."

3 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. So where is the link to the picture in the Article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Isn't it nice that our tax dollars go to these awesome telescopes yet they can't show us a freaking picture.

  2. Re:It's a trap! by lobotomir · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah, AC is right: initially the tag was used to mark all things Microsoft; now look at Slashdot's frontpage, and it's all over the place.

  3. Re:Collision by ivanmarsh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm gonna' say: consume it quitely without much hoopla.
    http://www.gulker.com/2006/04/09.html
    Keep in mind how far away from the Sun the Earth is in that image.