Astronomers have discovered that Proxima Centauri, our nearest stellar neighbor, releases incredibly violent flares that pose a serious threat to life on its orbiting planets. In March 2016 or later, the star unleashed a superflare visible to the naked eye, briefly becoming about 1000× brighter in visible light, emitting 10× more energy than the strongest solar flares we observe. More recent monitoring in 2019 captured another massive blast in ultraviolet and millimeter wavelengths 100× stronger than typical solar flares, confounding expectations about red dwarf activity. Such extreme outbursts regularly bombard Proxima b, the Earth-size planet in the star’s habitable zone. Studies show repeated flares can strip away atmospheres and deplete protective ozone layers by 90% within years, exposing any surface life to lethal levels of radiation. Though red dwarfs are abundant in our galaxy, their habitability must now be reassessed in light of frequent, powerful flares. This runaway stellar weather suggests that even worlds positioned at the right distance for liquid water could be rendered uninhabitable by relentless space storms. Image Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/S. Dagnello