MOST Observations of our Nearest Neighbor: Flares on Proxima Centauri

Understand

We present a study of white light flares from the active M5.5 dwarf Proxima Centauri using the Canadian microsatellite MOST.

• Using 37.6 days of monitoring data from 2014 and 2015, we have detected 66 individual flare events, the largest number of white light flares observed to date on Proxima Cen.
• Flare energies in our sample range from $10^{29}$-$10^{31.5}$ erg.
• The flare rate is lower than that of other classic flare stars of similar spectral type, such as UV Ceti, which may indicate Proxima Cen had a higher flare rate in its youth.