A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience
New findings show that planets orbiting red dwarf stars are more likely to be habitable than previously believed.
Only about a dozen potentially habitable exoplanets have been detected so far but, scientists say the universe should be teeming with alien worlds that could support life. The Milky Way alone may host 60 billion such planets around faint red dwarf stars, a new estimate suggests. (Video)
Continue reading… “60 billion alien planets in our galaxy could support life: Study”
Gliese 581 and its exoplanets are only 20 light years away.
One of our own solar system’s closest neighboring stars and a regular point of exoplanetary interest, the red dwarf Gliese 581, can finally claim the title of owning the first confirmed potentially-habitable expolanet. French researchers running complex computer models have demonstrated that the planet Gliese 581d–once thought too cold to sustain life–indeed could possess the proper ingredients to sustain liquid water and an atmosphere.
Continue reading… “First Potentially Habitable Exoplanet Found”
Red dwarf stars make up 80% of the stars in the universe.
Red dwarf stars are far more common than astronomers have believed — in fact, they may make up 80 percent of the star population, scientists said in a study on Wednesday that triples the number of stars in the universe.