October 10, 2023

Artistic concept of a red dwarf in a phase of flares that strip the atmosphere from one of its planets (Image NASA, ESA, and D. Player (STScI))

An article accepted for publication in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports the results of spectroscopic observations of the activity of the star TRAPPIST-1 conducted with the James Webb Space Telescope. A team of researchers observed four flares of this ultra-cool dwarf, which occurred over the course of about 27 hours. By adding data obtained with other instruments, it was possible to develop a mathematical method to separate the light of those flares from normal stellar radiation. In the study of a very small but also active star, this is very useful to improve the quality of observations of the seven rocky planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system.