Here we discuss the feasibility of photosynthesis on Earth-like rocky planets in close orbit around ultra-cool red dwarf stars. Stars of this type have very limited emission in the photosynthetically […]
M-dwarfs
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Impact of M-dwarf Stellar Wind and Photoevaporation on the Atmospheric Evolution of Small Planets
The evolution of a planet’s atmosphere depends strongly on its host star’s properties. When their host stars are younger, planets can experience stronger winds and EUV emissions. This is particularly […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Biosignature False Positives In Potentially Habitable Planets Around M Dwarfs: The Effect Of UV Radiation From One Flare
Many past studies have predicted the steady-state production and maintenance of abiotic O2 and O3 in the atmospheres of CO2-rich terrestrial planets orbiting M dwarf stars.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
A Re-Appraisal of CO/O2 Runaway On Habitable Planets Orbiting Low-Mass Stars
Efforts to spectrally characterize the atmospheric compositions of temperate terrestrial exoplanets orbiting M-dwarf stars with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are now underway. Key molecular targets of such searches […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Living With a Red Dwarf: The Rotation-Age Relationship of M Dwarfs
Age is a fundamental stellar property, yet for many stars it is difficult to reliably determine. For M dwarfs it has been notoriously so. Due to their lower masses, core […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy
Two super-Earths At The Edge Of The Habitable Zone Of The Nearby M Dwarf TOI-2095
The main scientific goal of TESS is to find planets smaller than Neptune around stars bright enough to allow further characterization studies.
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Whale Shark Rhodopsin Evolved For Low Light Environments
Editor’s note: how might life on worlds circling dim M-class dwarfs evolve their visual systems? How Sharks did it on Earth offers some possible insight.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report
Habitability And Sub Glacial Liquid Water On Planets Of M-dwarf Stars
A long-standing issue in astrobiology is whether planets orbiting the most abundant type of stars, M-dwarfs, can support liquid water and eventually life.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Characterisation Of Stellar Activity Of M dwarfs. I. Long-timescale variability In A Large Sample And Detection Of New Cycles
M dwarfs are active stars that exhibit variability in chromospheric emission and photometry at short and long timescales, including long cycles that are related to dynamo processes.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release
Star Light Simulator Illuminates The Search For Life Around The Milky Wayās Most Common Stars
Italian researchers have demonstrated experimentally for the first time that microorganisms can photosynthesise using the infrared-dominated light emitted by the most common type of star in the Milky Way.