Using data from the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) onboard ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray observatory, astronomers have detected for the first time a powerful X-ray flare from an ultracool dwarf of spectral class L. Designated 3XMM J033158.9-273925 (hereafter J0331-27), the tiny star is located approximately 783 light-years away. In a matter of minutes, it released over 10 times more energy of even the most intense flares suffered by the Sun. An...