Our planet is struck by solar eruptions - energetic particles that are thrown from the sun into space - fairly often. However, upon contact with our magnetic field, they are typically harmless, leading to beautiful auroras. But when these eruptions stem from massive amounts of hot plasma during large solar eruptions, they create "superflares" that could have severe consequences for Earth, according to a new study.
Solar flares are created when large magnetic fields on the surface of the sun break down, leading to the release of large amounts of magnetic energy. In the new study, researcher Christoffer Karoff and his team use data from observations of the magnetic field on the surface of almost 100,000 stars to reveal that superflares are likely created from the same process as solar flares.
"The magnetic fields on the surface of stars with superflares are generally stronger than the magnetic fields on the surface of the sun," he said. "This is exactly what we would expect, if superflares are formed in the same way as solar flares."
Given the weakness to the sun's magnetic field, it doesn't seem likely that it would be able to create a superflare. However, in Karoff's analysis, around 10 percent of the stars with superflares had a magnetic field similar to or weaker than that of the sun, meaning it is possible that the sun could create a superflare.
"We certainly did not expect to find superflare stars with magnetic fields as week as the magnetic fields on the Sun," he said. "This opens the possibility that the Sun could generate a superflare - a very frightening thought."
Although a superflare is unlikely, evidence from geological archives suggest that the sun might have produced a small superflare in AD 775. The evidence lies in tree rings that point to large amounts of the radioactive isotope 14C in the Earth's atmosphere, an isotope that is formed when energetic protons from large solar eruptions enter the Earth's atmosphere.
What would happen a superflare hit the Earth? An eruption of this size could have devastating consequences. Not only would it harm all electronic equipment on the planet, is would also damage our atmosphere and hinder Earth's ability to sustain life.
The findings were published in the March 24 issue of Nature Communications.
