As the new study shows, the Sun is capable of generating incredibly powerful super-flashes that can wreak havoc on Earth.
Researchers have learned that the same basic processes of "ordinary" high-energy radiation bursts emitted by the sun and super-flashes generated by us in distant stars can be thousands of times more powerful.
"This result supports the hypothesis that the Sun is capable of producing potentially destructive flashes," says study co-author Anne-Marie, from the University of Warwick in England.
Using the Kepler space telescope, a team of researchers analyzed the super-flashes emitted by the star KIC9655129, which is about 1500 light-years away from Earth.
Kepler is sensitive enough to catch tiny vibrations from the stars. This telescope does find planets.
Researchers say that observations made by Kepler revealed the main similarities between the KIC9655129 supersplash and the eruptions on the Sun.
Chloe Pugh, a lead author, also from Warwick University, said: "Sometimes, solar flares contain several waves creeping on each other. We found evidence that the properties of several waves or several periodicities in the stellar super flash are consistent with the properties of the waves that occur in solar outbreaks. " Strong solar flares can cause temporary shutdowns of the radio, and they are often accompanied by massive explosions of solar plasma, they are called coronal mass ejections (CME), which can be even more destructive. A powerful CME on Earth, for example, can trigger geomagnetic storms that affect GPS navigation, radio communications, and electrical networks for a long period of time.
“So the effects of super flashes can be catastrophic,” Pugh said. “But you don’t have to worry about such a worst-case scenario,” he added.
"Fortunately, the conditions required for super-flashes are extremely unlikely to occur on the Sun, which became clear from previous observations of solar activity," Pugh said.
In a study published less than a week before the event, a team of scientists led by Miho Zhenvier of the United Kingdom of the University of Dundee presented 3D modeling, which showed how distortion of the solar magnetic field could lead to solar flares.
