The Hubble telescope allows you to follow different cosmic bodies. Scientists are most interested in orange dwarfs. The study has made it clear that they are not as suitable for the development of life as previously thought. These stars are capable of sustaining high levels of activity for a very long time and put out streams of harsh ultraviolet light that are harmful for the planets’ atmospheres.
The discovery could be considered a real breakthrough. Until recently, scientists believed that orange dwarfs were the most suitable sites for life. But the telescope revealed a wealth of previously unknown details about these stars’ life cycles. It turned out that they remain active almost constantly and because of this have a negative impact on the development of life on the planet.
The Earth is now considered to be the only example of a habitable planet. Others either do not exist or have not yet been discovered. Astrophysicists, when they stop playing BetNero, lean towards the second option and believe that life is widespread in space and even Earth is not the most suitable planet for it.
Scientists have long studied various stars and have come to the opinion that orange dwarfs are considered more suitable for planets. After all, there used to be a theory that they were in the intermediate range between reds and yellows and therefore most favourable for the development of an atmosphere and life. However, all this theoretical reasoning has recently been disproved using the Hubble telescope.
But orange dwarfs emit more radiation than red dwarfs and flash much less frequently. And since they are less dangerous for planets, would they be more suitable for life? It used to be thought so. But recent work by astronomers in North America disproves that belief.
The Hubble Space Telescope has helped. With its help, scientists have studied the orange dwarfs located in the Milky Way. A total of 39 stars were considered, divided into three groups: the youngest (age 40-45 million years.) Medium (about 650 million years.) And the oldest (over 5 billion years.)
Initially, it was thought that the older the orange dwarf, the less active it was. This was true for yellow and red dwarfs. Scientists therefore thought the same thing was happening to oranges. In theory, they should have emitted less in the hard ultraviolet spectrum with age. However, in reality, this was not the case and the activity of orange dwarfs remained virtually unchanged.
Scientists have long wondered why this is the case. As a result, they realised a few years ago that this is due to an interesting feature of orange dwarfs. If we take yellow dwarfs as an example, their rotational speed decreases with age, and with it the activity and brightness in the ultraviolet spectrum. This is not the case with orange dwarfs. They do not slow down with age and retain their activity. All this jeopardises the development of life on planets nearby.
And as far as hard ultraviolet light is concerned, it is dangerous even for a planet’s atmosphere. All this leads to it becoming airless and no longer suitable for the development of life. Of course, there are some exceptions. For example, planets with a strong magnetic field are capable of developing life even near an orange dwarf. The fact is that this field is able to reflect all harmful radiation and preserve the atmosphere.
Thus, thanks to modern technology, it is possible to learn more about space and the likelihood of finding other planets with life.