First Glimpse of a “Young Sun” Super-Eruption Captured by Astronomers
Plasma ejections from young stars may offer valuable insights into the Sun’s early history. Most of the time, we hardly notice it from Earth, but the Sun is constantly hurling vast clouds of charged plasma into space. These eruptions, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), often accompany sudden bursts of light called solar flares. When these energetic events reach far enough to interact with Earth’s magnetic field, they can create space weather, producing dazzling auroras, triggering geomagnetic storms, and in rare cases, disrupting power grids. Scientists think that billions of years ago, when both the Sun and Earth were young, this solar activity was far more intense. The early Sun may have unleashed CMEs so powerful that they influenced how life first appeared and evolved on our planet. Studies of young, Sun-like stars, which serve as stand-ins for our own star’s early days, show that they frequently generate flares far stronger than any recorded in modern times. Massive CME...
