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Stellar Flares

22 April 2024
Astronomy, cosmology

At https://phys.org/news/2024-04-hydrogen-recombination-plausible-explanation-high.html … here we have a plausible explanation put forward to explain the intensity of stellar flares. Cosmologists making sense of solar flares as well as stellar flares. The latter are picked up as points of light by modern observersations such as the Transitting Exoplanet Survey Satellite [TESS}. Models in use do not seem to have an adequate explanation although ionisation and recombination of hydrogen is said to be a promising idea that may have wings. Solar flares are used to interpret stellar flares – but do they really understand solar flares.

At https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/astrophysics/boat-gamma-ray-burst-supernova/ … which is also at https://phys.org/news/2024-04-brightest-gamma-ray-collapsing-star.html … where the gamma ray burst occurred in 2022 but is said to be the brightest yet spotted by modern astronomy. It is concluded it was generated by a supernova – a star collapsing in on itself. Since 2022 astronomers have been actively looking for the source of the beam of gamma rays, a burst of light and energy. Gamma ray bursts are in fact quite common – but this one was dstinct. It did not occur in far away galaxies but as far as space time is concerned it was quite near our position in the universe. Astrophysicists struggle to explain them. Models are essential. For example, no heavy elements appear to have been generated as normally occur with supernovae. Or what is thought to be supernovae. Heavy elements are necessary to form rocky planets.

In this instance astrophysicists have used data from the James Webb Space Telescope to search for the source of the brightest gamma ray burst known to modern astronomers. However, the lack of heavy elements remains a major problem.

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