Figure out where the aliens might be swarming

American scientists have located special star systems where there could be up to a third of the planet filled with water and life, not just a solitary Earth like the solar system.

An American research team pointed directly to red dwarfs, the type of stars that are several times smaller and cooler than the Sun. Their work suggests they are the star shape with the potential to host the larger worlds of life.

“These stars are excellent targets for finding small orbiting planets where water might be liquid and therefore habitable.” – winch Sci-News quoted co-author Sheila Sagear from the University of Florida (USA).

Graphic image of Gliese 414, a red dwarf system thought to contain habitable planets

Graphic image of Gliese 414, a red dwarf system thought to contain a planet with life – (Image: SCI-ƝEWS).

Dr. Gagear’s team measured the eccentricity of a sample of 150 planets around M-type red dwarfs.

They found that many planets will be located too close to the red dwarf star, close to Mercury and the Sun and below.

Ϲthis planet undergoes a process called tidal warming due to the influence of the mother star, so literally “cooked” and can eliminate any chance of having liquid water. But up to a third of the planets observed outside this orbit also have other elements that allow them to keep water in a liquid state.

Liquid water is very important, for example, the solar system contains 3 planets “living area” but Venus and Mars can’t hold liquid water, so it can’t live or has life but is extinct, studies show.

And they must be the planets of red dwarf star systems with many planets, because the interaction between planets often helps them to have stable and circular orbits, which are also life-sustaining factors.

This means that our (Galaxy) is a promising place to hunt for extraterrestrial life, as red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the galaxy.

Article source: NTD