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Stellar flares have been observed in the X-ray for twenty years, but the events must be much larger --- by as much as a factor of $10^4$ --- than even the most energetic on the Sun in order to be detected across the enormous distances. While stellar ``superflares'' are of considerable interest, it is equally important to ascertain whether and with what frequency commonplace solar-like events occur on stars. This is an important test of the working hypothesis that we are dealing with scaled-up versions of the same physical phenomenon. The new Japanese ASCA satellite has now succeeded in this, observing very typical M-class solar-like flares on the next nearest star, Proxima Centauri.
