Date: 09 Nov 2006 04:31:45
From: Sam Wormley
Subject: Killer Solar Flare... on Another Star
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Killer Solar Flare... on Another Star
http://www.universetoday.com/2006/11/07/killer-solar-flare-on-another-star/
NASA's Swift satellite has spotted one of the most powerful stellar
flares ever seen. Fortunately, this killer blast happened on a star
located about 135 light-years from Earth. Had the flare occurred on
the Sun, it would have triggered a mass extinction on our planet. The
flaring star, II Pegasi, has a stellar companion in a very tight
orbit. Their interaction has caused the tidally locked stars to spin
very quickly. It is this rapid rotation that leads to powerful
stellar flares.
See: http://www.universetoday.com/2006/11/07/killer-solar-flare-on-another-star/
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