Astronomers just spotted a massive stellar storm outside our solar system
For the first time ever, scientists have caught a coronal mass ejection (CME)—think giant space storm—coming from a star beyond our Sun.
Using the LOFAR radio telescope, they watched this happen on StKM 1-1262, a red dwarf about 130 light-years away.
This storm was wild: it blasted out at 2,400km per second and packed over 10,000 times more punch than typical solar storms.
What made this discovery possible?
Researchers picked up the CME's shockwave as it broke free from the star's powerful magnetic bubble during an eight-hour observation.
StKM 1-1262 spins super fast—20 times quicker than our Sun—and its intense magnetic field is what fuels these extreme outbursts.
So, could planets around red dwarfs support life?
Here's the catch: planets orbiting close to red dwarfs need to be much nearer to their star than Earth is to stay warm enough for liquid water.
But with storms this strong, even a planet with Earth-like protection would keep losing its atmosphere.
That makes life as we know it pretty tough on worlds around these common stars.