Get the latest Science News and Discoveries

Stellar Flares May Expand Habitable Zones Around Small Stars


The search for life beyond Earth has traditionally focused on exoplanets orbiting Sun-like stars, which is a G-type star. However, low-mass stars, which are designated as K-type and M-type stars, have rapidly become a target for astrobiology, primarily due to their much longer lifetimes. This also means the habitable zone (HZ), which is the distance from a star where liquid water could exist, is much smaller than our solar system’s HZ, and is referred to as the liquid water habitable zone (LW-HZ). In contrast, another type of HZ that involves a star’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation potentially enabling life-harboring conditions is known as UV-HZ.

None

Get the Android app

Or read this on Universe Today

Read more on:

Photo of stellar flares

stellar flares

Photo of small stars

small stars

Photo of habitable zones

habitable zones

Related news:

News photo

Goodbye Goldilocks: Scientists may have to look beyond habitable zones to find alien life

News photo

Solar Flares and Stellar Flares Hit Different

News photo

Stellar Flares Unveil Hidden Magnetic Secrets of TRAPPIST-1