The Mouse that Roared Again: Another Monster Superflare from EV Lacertae

Volume 52 number 1 (2024)

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Gary J. Hawkins

Blossom Valley Small Telescope Observatory (BVSTO), El Cajon, CA; astrogary8@gmail.com

Abstract

An extraordinary superflare event was observed for EV Lac on November 4, 2023, UTC, at the Blossom Valley Small Telescope Observatory (BVSTO) in El Cajon, California. Despite sensor saturation challenges, the analysis revealed a complex flare structure primarily observed in the tri-color blue (TB) band. It is estimated that the bolometric energy of the flare was 7.6 × 10^34 erg, making it a once-in-three to thirty-year event. A high-level review of the scientific literature, AAVSO International Database, and available sector data for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) tentatively establishes this event as the second-largest flare recorded for EV Lac. This paper underscores the importance of ongoing amateur monitoring and analysis of stellar flare events to advance our understanding of stellar activity, magnetic fields, and their implications for planetary environments.