The mouse that roared: pipsqueak star unleashes monster flare

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An artist depiction of the incredibly powerful flare that erupted from the red dwarf star EV Lacertae. Credit: Casey ReedNASA
An artist depiction of the incredibly powerful flare that erupted from the red dwarf star EV Lacertae. Credit: Casey Reed/NASA

On April 25, NASA’s Swift satellite picked up the brightest flare ever seen from a normal star other than our Sun. The flare, an explosive release of energy from a star, packed the power of thousands of solar flares. It would have been visible to the naked eye if the star had been easily observable in the night sky at the time.


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All News summaries for May 19, 2008

A new era in search for 'sister Earths'?

53 minutes ago | User rating: not rated yet
Research presented at a recent astronomical conference is being hailed as ushering in a new era in the search for Earth-like planets by showing that they are more numerous than previously thought and that ...

'Impressionist' Spacecraft to View Solar System's Invisible Frontier

2 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- At the edge of our solar system in December 2004, the Voyager 1 spacecraft encountered something never before experienced during its then 26-year cruise through the solar system — an invisible ...

NASA Successfully Tests Parachute for Ares Rocket

2 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA and industry engineers have successfully completed the first drop test of a drogue parachute for the Ares I rocket. The drogue parachute is designed to slow the rapid descent of the spent first-stage ...

Partial Solar Eclipse visible from the UK on the morning of 1st August

7 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
On 1st August 2008 there will be a total eclipse of the Sun, visible from Canada, northern Greenland, Svalbard, the Barents Sea, Russia, Mongolia and China. From the whole of the British Isles observers will see a partial ...

Rising energy, food prices major threats to wetlands as farmers eye new areas for crops

11 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Critical food shortages and growing demand for bio-fuels and hydro-electricity due to high fossil fuel prices rank among the greatest threats today to the preservation of precious wetlands worldwide as farmers and developers ...
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