The number of planets that could support life may be a lot smaller than experts originally believed, according to a new study.
The study says that planets that orbit red-dwarf stars face extreme space weather, making it less likely that life could survive.
Research was conducted by a team from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), who presented their findings that support this claim at the 224th Meeting of the American Astronomy Society on June 2.
Lead researcher Ofer Cohen and his team started looking at red dwarf-star solar systems that could have habitable worlds because these tiny suns make up approximately 80 percent of the universe's stars, according to a CfA press release.
"A red-dwarf planet faces an extreme space environment, in addition to other stresses like tidal locking," says Ofer Cohen of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), according to the release.
Close examination of the planets showed one big issue concerning their potential to hold life. Since red dwarf stars are smaller and cooler than the Earth's Sun, exoplanets would have to orbit closer to their star to have the same temperature conditions as the Earth, or the proper conditions to support water/life.
Previous studies showed the impact of stellar flares from a red dwarf on a nearby planet. In comparison, the new research examines the effect of the red dwarf's constantly blowing stellar wind, according to the release.
The team used a computer model, developed at the University of Michigan, to represent three known red-dwarf planets circling a middle-aged, simulated red dwarf.
They discovered that even an Earth-like magnetic field couldn't protect a habitable-zone world from the star's continuous bombardment, according to the release.
Though there were times when the planet's magnetic shields "held firm," according to the study, it spent most of its time with weak shields, than with strong ones.
"The space environment of close-in exoplanets is much more extreme than what the Earth faces," explains co-author Jeremy Drake (CfA). "The ultimate consequence is that any planet potentially would have its atmosphere stripped over time."
The extreme space weather would also cause a spectacular aurorae, or Northern Lights, according to the release.
The aurora on a red-dwarf planet could be 100,000 stronger than those witnessed on Earth, and extend from the poles halfway to the equator.
"If Earth were orbiting a red dwarf, then people in Boston would get to see the Northern Lights every night," Cohen said in a statement, according to the release. "Oh the other hand, we'd also be in constant darkness because of tidal locking, and blasted by hurricane-force winds because of the dayside-nightside temperature contrast. I don't think even hardy New Englanders want to face that kind of weather."
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