A Bright Flare from Star Proxima Centauri
Center for Astrophysics A Hubble image of the M-dwarf star Proxima Centauri, our closest stellar neighbor about four light-years away. Proxima hosts two planets, and is known to actively flare. Astronomers studying the suitability for life evolving on exoplanets around M-dwarf stars have completed a multi-wavelength analysis of an extreme flare on Proxima Cen. Hubble/ ESA/NAS The prospects for life around low-mass, cool M-type stars have been extensively discussed because these stars are the most common ones in the galaxy, and they frequently host Earth-sized planets in their habitable zones ...