This is the first time when astronomers are able to view sun spots and mass ejection due to solar activity, on a star outside the solar system. Having a spin speed rotation about 66 times that of our Sun, the star named 'Speedy Mic' is located about ten million times farther from Earth, than our own star. Similar to ours, it has a mass of about 90 percent of that of the Sun, and it is in its early stages of life, which makes it so important to astronomers, as it might reveal some secrets about its evolution.
By using observations made with the Very Large Telescope array, and the XMM Newton X-ray space telescopes, astronomers
have taken multiple images of the star during the last year, which, by using the Doppler imaging technique, revealed the presence of several sunspots on its surface. Similar to the sunspots visible on the Sun's surface during intense solar activity, very small numbers are located in the proximity of the star's poles, while most of them are present in the equatorial area forming an asymmetrical pattern.
Doppler imaging is especially important when you are trying to identify features of the surface of a distant cosmic body, which would require an enormous telescope, with a primary mirror having at least 400 meters in diameter. Instead, the Doppler imaging technique involves studying the light coming from the object, and comparing it in order to determine minute changes in its spectral emissions.
The XMM-Newton space telescope was able to detect, during its observations on BO Microscopii, several solar flares, which astronomers clearly showed that they originated from the star itself. Surprisingly, during the coronary emission of a large energetic solar flare, lasting for more than four hours, astronomers detected that, unlike the solar flares originating from the Sun, this one didn't seem to match the sunspots pattern of the surface of the star, but it was ejected from relative inactive area.
Located in the direction of the Microscope constellation about 150 light years away from Earth, 'Speedy Mic' has an age of about 30 million years and, in comparison to the Sun, it has a relative high rotation speed for a star its age and size. Furthermore, the young star presents extreme magnetic activity, which could account for the increased solar activity.
Such large solar storm raging from the surface of the Sun would probably produce material damage, related to the disabling of the communication networks or satellites, and electric power line distribution system perturbations.
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