Hubble Observes Massive Stellar Eruption from EK Draconis, Hinting at Life’s Origins

A strong solar storm that is erupting from a young star that resembles the Sun has been directly observed by astronomers, providing hints about the possible chemistry of life. An international team led by Kosuke Namekata of Kyoto University used the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories to record a coronal mass ejection (CME), a massive stellar eruption from the star EK Draconis. Enough energy was contained in this powerful, two-phase explosion to propel chemical reactions in a planet’s atmosphere, producing greenhouse gases and organic molecules.

Observing a Young Star’s Eruption

According to the research, EK Draconis (age ~50–125 million years) is a young Sun-like star about 111 light-years away. Scientists have been able to observe it using Hubble and ground telescopes in the ultraviolet and visible light. They imprinted a two-phase CME, the initial burst of hot plasma (~100,000 K) was released at 300550 km/s, followed roughly 10 minutes thereafter by a cooler gas (~10,000 K) at a speed of approximately 70 km/s. The cooler consumed much less energy than the hot plasma.

Implications for Planetary Life

These intense eruptions have the potential to dramatically transform the immediate planets. The molecules of the atmosphere can be broken and rebuilt into complex organics by the particles of the stellar storm. Indeed, according to the team of Namekata, fast CMEs have the ability to trigger biomolecules and greenhouse gases, which constitute some of the primary components of life. This implies that the storms of the young Sun might have aided the emergence of life on the ancient Earth, and indicates that these blasts on exoplanets may enhance their hospitability.