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.
A massive black hole at the heart of a galaxy in the Virgo constellation is waking up, shooting out intense X-ray flares at regular intervals that have puzzled scientists, a study said Friday.
Astronomy
Apr 13, 2025
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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. Its flare activity has been well-known to astronomers using visible wavelengths ...
Astronomy
Mar 27, 2025
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When the sun hurled enormous amounts of radiation into space in an explosive eruption on February 22, 2024, the Indian space probe Aditya-L1, launched a few months earlier, was watching closely—and thus captured the first ...
Astronomy
Feb 28, 2025
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The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way appears to be having a party—and it is weird, wild and wonderful.
Astronomy
Feb 18, 2025
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SpaceX suspects a fire may have caused its Starship to break apart during liftoff and send trails of flaming debris near the Caribbean.
Space Exploration
Jan 17, 2025
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One supermassive black hole has kept astronomers glued to their scopes for the last several years. First came a surprise disappearance, and now, a precarious spinning act.
Astronomy
Jan 13, 2025
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208
A group of astronomers from numerous institutions have investigated a recently discovered nearby tidal disruption event known as ASASSN-22ci. They detected two luminous flares from this event. The finding was reported in ...
An international scientific team, led by a researcher from the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) and the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC), has managed to detect an exceptionally fast and bright cosmic burst ...
Astronomy
Dec 12, 2024
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The TRAPPIST-1 system is a science-fiction writer's dream. Seven Earth-sized worlds orbit a red dwarf star just 40 light-years away. Three of those worlds are within the habitable zone of the star. The system spans a distance ...
Astrobiology
Oct 28, 2024
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46
Using the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) and various ground-based telescopes, an international team of astronomers have performed observations of a strong X-ray superflare which occurred in 2022 on a giant ...
