M-dwarfs

Plants Would Still Grow Well Under Alien Skies

Photosynthesis changed Earth in powerful ways. When photosynthetic organisms appeared, it led to the Great Oxygenation Event. That allowed multicellular…

2 weeks ago

Studying Stars from the Lunar Surface with MoonLITE, Courtesy of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services

Optical interferometry has been a long-proven science method that involves using several separate telescopes to act as one big telescope,…

3 weeks ago

Astronomers are on the Hunt for Dyson Spheres

There's something poetic about humanity's attempt to detect other civilizations somewhere in the Milky Way's expanse. There's also something futile…

5 months ago

Even the Calmest Red Dwarfs are Wilder than the Sun

There's something menacing about red dwarfs. Human eyes are accustomed to our benevolent yellow Sun and the warm light it…

2 years ago

Are Planets Tidally Locked to Red Dwarfs Habitable? It’s Complicated

Astronomers are keenly interested in red dwarfs and the planets that orbit them. Up to 85% of the stars in…

2 years ago

Another Reason Red Dwarfs Might Be Bad for Life: No Asteroid Belts

In a recent study accepted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters, a team of researchers at the University of Nevada, Las…

2 years ago

Just How Bad are Superflares to a Planet’s Habitability?

Star's can be full of surprises; some of them nasty. While our own Sun appears pretty placid, science has shown…

4 years ago