'Superflares' may make it hard for life to begin around dwarf stars

[Admin]

Powerful stellar eruptions could pose a serious challenge to the origin and evolution of life around the universe, a new study suggests.

'Superflares' may make it hard for life to begin around dwarf stars : Read more

 

[Ed Stauffer]

Or they just have a flare for developing subsurface life.

 

[rod]

This report indicates Earth is not that good, perhaps there are superhabitable exoplanets now, Some planets may be better for life than Earth, https://phys.org/news/2020-10-planets-life-earth.html

My observation. This study shows that habitable earths orbiting class G stars (similar to our Sun) in the Milky Way, apparently is an idea largely abandoned now because of the more than 4300 exoplanets documented, not confirming habitable earths around other class G stars in the Milky Way apparently. Astrobiology using the *science* of abiogenesis for the origin of life is looking elsewhere today. This exoplanet site documents 4360 confirmed now, http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/, the NASA site has 4292 confirmed now, https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/index.html

The search continues at Venus, Mars, Titan, some Jupiter moons, Enceladus, and among the stars. Using observation as a fundamental rule in science, we do see life here on Earth as well as a fossil record. Concerning observation, we see trees growing here

 

[logicalone2]

Red dwarfs are small and potential habitable zone planets will not only be close to their stars. They will also tend to be tidally locked, which means one side will avoid direct effects of flares from sun. So, it seems like you could have habitable planets where one side was habitable and the other not so much.

 

[Ed Stauffer]

Thought it was interesting that one of the criteria for a super habitable planet was that the temperature be 5 degrees Celsius warmer than the Earth. Hmmmm! Of course historically that was where the earth was in the past.

 

[rod]

I note in the arxiv paper report, calls attention to a big issue with superflares at red dwarf stars. The measurements may be underestimating the energy level of UV radiation, UV energy that can evaporate an exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf in the habitable zone. It is a 14 page paper (PDF) but very interesting reading.

[2010.00604] EvryFlare III: Temperature Evolution and Habitability Impacts of Dozens of Superflares Observed Simultaneously by Evryscope and TESS

I like the paper because specific red dwarfs are studied and efforts to define UV impact on possible exoplanets around red dwarf hosts. "ABSTRACT Superfares may provide the dominant source of biologically-relevant UV radiation to rocky habitablezone M-dwarf planets (M-Earths), altering planetary atmospheres and conditions for surface life..."

The key I see is *altering planetary atmospheres...* and what this could do for a habitable exoplanet around a red dwarf host.