A variable star that experiences sudden, dramatic increases in brightness due to magnetic reconnection events in its atmosphere. These flares can increase a star's luminosity by several magnitudes within minutes.
From Middle English 'flaren' (to spread out, blaze) + 'star' (from Old English 'steorra'). The term was coined in the mid-20th century when astronomers began observing these sudden brightness variations.
Flare stars are like cosmic firecrackers - they can suddenly become hundreds of times brighter in just minutes due to magnetic explosions in their atmospheres! Our nearest neighbor Proxima Centauri is a flare star, which raises fascinating questions about the habitability of planets orbiting such temperamental stars.
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