Superflares may not be that dangerous for planets

In “Proxima Rising,” the planet Proxima b and its inhabitants become victims of an eruption of the central red dwarf, a superflares. Astronomers have long suspected that such radiation bursts can permanently damage the atmospheres – and thus the habitability – of exoplanets. A new study published Aug. 5 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society may now give the all-clear.

Using optical observations from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite – TESS for short – the team, led by ...