In the context of physical phenomena, a flare is a transient, intense increase in electromagnetic radiation and often particle emission from an astrophysical object, typically associated with rapid energy release in a magnetized plasma. Solar and stellar flares arise from magnetic reconnection in the corona, converting stored magnetic energy into heating, particle acceleration, and broadband radiation from radio to gamma rays on timescales of seconds to hours. Flares are characterized by impulsive and gradual phases, nonthermal electron and ion populations, and can drive associated phenomena such as coronal mass ejections, shock waves, and disturbances in surrounding magnetized environments.
An international team led by astronomers at the University of Sydney has uncovered the clearest evidence yet for the origin of an unusual class of cosmic signals. In doing so, they have identified a rare stellar system that ...
Astronomy
Jun 1, 2026
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The Fe Kα line, or iron Kα line, is often used in astronomical research to understand the physical composition of astronomical objects. This line is produced when a K-shell electron of an iron ion in the photosphere—the gas ...
Astronomy
Apr 27, 2026
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Our sun is a roiling mass of energy, with solar flares exploding on its surface, sending gas, plasma, and light that blasts across the solar system. When radiation from extra-powerful flares breaks through Earth's outer protective ...
Astronomy
Apr 16, 2026
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On August 19, 2022, solar astronomers using the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) on the Hawaiian island of Maui caught the fading remnants of a C-class solar flare. Their observations showed something unusual: very ...
Astronomy
Apr 12, 2026
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What happens when a solar superstorm hits Mars? Thanks to the European Space Agency's Mars orbiters, we now know: glitching spacecraft and a supercharged upper atmosphere.
Astronomy
Mar 5, 2026
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On July 2, 2025, the China-led Einstein Probe (EP) space telescope detected an exceptionally bright X-ray source whose brightness varied rapidly during a routine sky survey. Its unusual signal immediately set it apart from ...
Astronomy
Feb 10, 2026
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Deep in the frozen heart of Antarctica, the South Pole Telescope has been watching one of the most extreme neighborhoods in our galaxy, and it's just caught something extraordinary happening there. Astronomers have detected ...
Astronomy
Jan 31, 2026
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An international team of astronomers has analyzed the data from long-term multiwavelength monitoring of a distant blazar known as OP 313. Results of the new study, published January 18 on the arXiv preprint server, shed more ...
Researchers from the South Pole Telescope project team looked deep into the center of the Milky Way, discovering powerful, surprising bursts of light from two accreting white dwarf systems.
Astronomy
Jan 20, 2026
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444
One of the main questions in exoplanet science concerns M dwarfs (red dwarfs) and the habitability of exoplanets that orbit them. These stars are known for their prolific and energetic flaring, and that's a problem. M dwarfs ...
Astrobiology
Jan 6, 2026
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