Discovery of a massive superflare on the star HD 22468

Star system: HD 22468 A | Distance from the Sun: 96 light years

Astronomers have captured a rare and powerful superflare on the star HD 22468 using the SVOM mission's hard X-ray camera. This massive explosion released an incredible amount of energy, estimated at up to 1.7e38 ergs, and heated plasma to temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Kelvin—far hotter than the Sun's core. Observations taken shortly after the peak revealed material moving at speeds of 96 kilometers per second, suggesting either a violent eruption of a prominence or a massive upward flow of plasma from the star's lower atmosphere. This event represents one of the few times such a stellar flare has been detected in high-energy X-rays, providing a detailed look at the extreme magnetic activity possible on stars similar to our own but in more active binary systems.

Scientific study

Multi-wavelength Study of A Superflare on RS CVn-type Star HD22468 Triggered at Hard X-ray by SVOM (external link)