Today’s theme is star power. We Earthlings think we’re pretty powerful. Sometimes it’s healthy to look around the galaxy (or at other nearby galaxies) and remember that we’re just riding the waves of vastly more powerful forces.
Let’s hope our own star stays calm for the time being.
Astronomers have recently observed superflares on sun-like stars, more than a million times more powerful than the ones our Sun spits out.
Here’s video of an intense solar flare our Sun shot at us today.
In just three days, the Sun will be eclipsed by the moon, and the west coast of the U.S. will have a great view.
Our solar system must be special. It might be harboring whole planets we still haven’t discovered.
But in the grand scheme of things, we’re still a speck. The most powerful black holes can shut down nearby star formation before solar systems even get a chance to develop.
We’re luckier than we realize. Look what happens when galaxies eat each other.
Image via Shutterstock.
