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Stellar Tantrums: Tracking the flaring cycles of other stars

During each iteration of its fierce and familiar 11-year cycle of activity, the turbulent surface of the sun reaches a crescendo, shooting jets of scalding gas and magnetic energy into space at a markedly increased rate. For the first time, astronomers have made continuous, long-term observations of such flare activity on stars outside the solar system, and they've found that the stars have cycles of activity and quiescence similar to those of the sun.

