Some Of The Most Common Stars In The Milky Way May Be Even Less Habitable Than Previously Thought, New Research Suggests

A NASA telescope has revealed that the most common stars in the Milky Way may be even less habitable than previously thought. The red dwarf stars, which are smaller than the sun, may blast their planets with intense ultraviolet light radiation flares, reducing their potential ability to house life.

A team of researchers reached this conclusion after analyzing data gathered by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which has now been decommissioned.

The GALEZ was launched in 2003, and its job was to scan the universe in UV light, searching for flares from about 300,000 nearby stars. The telescope was shut down in 2013. The research team states that the harmful flares are possibly more common than they assumed.

“Few stars have been thought to generate enough UV radiation through flares to impact planet habitability. Our findings show that many more stars may have this capability,” said Vera Berger, the leader of the study and a researcher from the University of Cambridge.

The team used modern computer techniques to process the GALEX data, allowing them to look for flares on thousands of nearby stars and uncover new insights on red dwarfs. Scientists already knew about the many ways that UV light and radiation from a star can be fatal to life.

For example, they can strip away a planet’s atmosphere and break down molecules that are the foundation of the creation of life.

The new research suggests that current stellar flare models have not fully captured the dangers of UV emissions from flares. The team found that UV emissions from flares are around three to 12 times more energetic than expected. This challenges current knowledge about the habitability of extrasolar planets, also known as exoplanets.

“A change of three is the same as the difference in UV in the summer from Anchorage, Alaska, to Honolulu, where unprotected skin can get a sunburn in less than 10 minutes,” said Benjamin J. Shappee, a co-author of the study from the University of Hawaii.

It is unclear what causes the intensely strong UV flare emissions. However, the team believes that they could be concentrated at certain wavelengths of light. Since elements absorb and unleash light at characteristic wavelengths, they could point to the presence of carbon and nitrogen atoms.

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