In a new press release, university astrophysicist Meredith MacGregor indicated that Proxima Centauri might be a small, dim star but don't let its diminutive size and feeble radiance fool you. Existing 20 trillion miles beyond our own sun, it's home to at least two planets, Proxima Centauri a and Proxima Centauri b.
MacGregor is an assistant professor at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA) and Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences (APS) at CU Boulder in Colorado.
Credit: NRAO/NSF/S. Dagnello
She and her team watched Proxima Centauri for roughly 40 hours using an array of nine ground telescopes and one orbital observatory. During the study, Proxima Centauri shot out an intense radiation plume that instantly elevated it to one of the largest ever observed in the Milky Way.