Orpington Astronomical Society

Astronomy => In the Media... => Topic started by: mickw on May 19, 2008, 17:37:15

Title: Tiny Star Unleashes Huge Explosion
Post by: mickw on May 19, 2008, 17:37:15
A tiny star recently unleashed what is considered the brightest burst of light ever seen in the universe from a normal star, astronomers announced today.

Shining with only 1 percent of the sun's light and boasting just a third of the sun's mass, this run-of-the-mill star previously was nothing to write home about. On April 25, the red dwarf star, known as EV Lacertae, unleashed a mega-flare, packing the power of thousands of solar flares. Since the star is located 16 light-years away, in reality, the flare actually occurred 16 years ago.

More:   http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080519-small-star.html