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Kepler's "Superflare" Stars Sport Huge, Angry Starspots
astroengine writes: Astronomers studying stars like our sun that are known to generate powerful "superflares" have also discovered that these superflares are likely associated with monster "starspots." In 2012, using Kepler Space Telescope data — which is usually associated with the detection of exoplanets as they drift (or transit) in front of their host stars — astronomers were able to identify several hundred superflare events on a number of sun-like stars. These gargantuan events kicked out flares with 10-10,000 times more energy than our sun is able to muster. Keeping in mind that these stars are sun-like stars, what makes them such superflare powerhouses? Why is our sun such a featherweight in comparison? In an effort to understand the dynamics of superflare stars and perhaps answer these questions, astronomers from Kyoto University, University of Hyogo, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and Nagoya University turned to the High Dispersion Spectrograph on the Subaru Telescope, located atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii, to carry out spectroscopic measurements of 50 of Kepler's superflare targets. And they found that all the superflare stars possessed huge starspots that completely dwarf our sun's sunspots.
Our sun is middle age
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
why the Sun is such a lightweight in this regard but it's a good thing because otherwise we wouldn't be here.
Somewhere between 4 and 5 billion years from now, the sun will turn into a red giant. Mercury and Venus are toast when that happens. Earth may be engulfed, or it may be pushed to a higher orbit, we're not sure.
We have a bash with the Andromeda Galaxy scheduled in about 4 billion years. Seems the date has been moved up, as both Andromeda and the Milky Way may be larger than thought. That may not do anything to the solar system, everything could miss us. Or, we'll have a close encounter with a massive star and most of the planets, including Earth, will be flung into interstellar space. Or perhaps our entire solar system will be sent out of the galaxy.
But none of that matters, because the sun is slowly getting hotter, and in about 1 billion years will be hot enough to boil away our oceans.
At any time, a nearby supergiant could go supernova, and if a pole is pointed at us, all life dies from the massive quantities of radiation it puts out.
In 15 billion years, the Earth becomes tidally locked to the Moon. Not fatal to all life, but will mess up a lot of species.
At some point, the radioactive material in the Earth finishes decaying and generating heat. Then plate tectonics shuts down, and eventually all our continents erode into the ocean floor. If there is still an ocean when that happens, it will cover the world.
But probably, we'll kill ourselves off long before any of that happens. Fun times.
Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
Man I haven't seen a monster flare that large since I ate that extra hot Thai food last Friday.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Keeping in mind that these stars are sun-like stars, what makes them such superflare powerhouses? Why is our sun such a featherweight in comparison?
It's because our sun is yellah.
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Are these stars passing through relatively dense gas and/or dust clouds? Is it possible that is what is triggering/fueling these events?
If that is the case, is Sol on a path that takes it through similar gas/dust clouds at some point in the future, and if so, how far in the future?
Strat
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
Did it occur to the astronomers that maybe these stars aren't like our sun?
It's evidence of Alien Warfare I tell you! They excite a star in such a way as to produce a planet-killer flare directed right at the enemy planet.
I'll go with "huge", but is there some indication that these stars are mad, upset, or otherwise upset with their local stellar area?
already described and explained by Olaf Stapledon in "Star Maker"
And it's just something that happens on timescales in the 10's of thousands or more years?
The starspots I mean. And if starspots is a word, why does the editor underline it in angry red?