November 17, 2023 7-9PM

Event Type: Lecture and Stargazing
Title: Stellar Tantrums and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Lecturer: Yuping Huang
Position: PhD Candidate
Institution: Caltech
Abstract:
The Sun throws a tantrum from time to time, sending a powerful eruption of charged particles outward through the solar system known as a coronal mass ejection. Sometimes these outbursts strike the earth's magnetic field, causing geomagnetic storms and the beautiful celestial displays known as aurora or the Northern Lights. In 1859, the most intense geomagnetic storm on record, known as the Carrington event, hit Earth. This storm produced an aurora visible as far south as the Caribbean, shutting down telegraph stations all over North America and Europe. Other stars that we observe to host planets, especially red dwarfs, can be much grumpier than the Sun, potentially leading to significantly more energetic and frequent eruptions. In this talk, we explore what we know about stellar tantrums beyond the Solar system, and what it may mean for the development of life around other stars.