(Abridged) We search for evidence of star-planet magnetic interactions in the nearby Proxima Centauri planetary system using high-quality, high-spectral-resolution optical observations.
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Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1
A Single Power Law For The TRAPPIST-1 Flare Distribution Across Four Orders Of Magnitude In Energy
TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf that flares frequently. These flares shape the surrounding planets’ high-energy irradiation environments, with consequences for atmospheric chemistry and escape, and they can contaminate transmission spectroscopy […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics
Habitability Of Exoplanets Orbiting Flaring Stars
As of late 2025 there are about 70 exoplanets that meet the formal criterion of having equilibrium temperatures allowing the presence of liquid water and about 50 of them orbit […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Stellar Flares In The TESS Light Curves Of Planet-hosting M dwarfs
M dwarfs are magnetically active stars that frequently produce flares, which have implications for both stellar evolution and exoplanet studies.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Press Release, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, TRAPPIST-1
Flares On TRAPPIST-1 Reveal The Spectrum Of Magnetic Features On Its Surface
TRAPPIST-1 is an M8 dwarf hosting seven known exoplanets and is currently one of the most frequently observed targets of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Far-ultraviolet Flares and Variability of the Young M dwarf AU Mic: a Non-detection of Planet c in Transit at Lyman-alpha
Atmospheric escape’s potential to shape the exoplanet population motivates detailed observations of systems actively undergoing escape.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Proxima Centauri, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Stellar Cartography
ALMA Shares A New View of Proxima Centauri
At a distance of just over four light years, Proxima Centauri is our nearest stellar neighbor and is known to be a very active M dwarf star.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Stellar Cartography
Sun-like Stars Produce Superflares Roughly Once Per Century
Stellar superflares are energetic outbursts of electromagnetic radiation, similar to solar flares but releasing more energy, up to 1036 erg on main sequence stars.
Posted inPress Release, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, TRAPPIST-1
Lower-than-expected Flare Temperatures For TRAPPIST-1
Although high energetic radiation from flares is a potential threat to exoplanet atmospheres and may lead to surface sterilization, it might also provide the extra energy for low-mass stars needed […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics
First Millimeter Flares Detected from Epsilon Eridani with ALMA
We report the detection of three large millimeter flaring events from the nearby Sun-like, ϵ Eridani, found in archival ALMA 12m and ACA observations at 1.33 mm taken from 2015 […]