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According to NASA scientists, several planets could be damaged by violent eruptions emanating from the star host.
Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope say that super-images of the host star could make orbiting planets uninhabitable, NASA said in a statement. Hubble, as part of the HAZMAT – Living Zones and Dwarf Activity Through Time program, observes such stars.
What is M dwarf?
M dwarf is the astronomical term for a red dwarf star, the smallest, most abundant and most enduring star type in our galaxy, according to the study published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Young red dwarfs are active stars that produce ultraviolet rashes that release such energy that they could influence the chemistry of the atmosphere and possibly strip away the atmospheres of these nascent planets.
What is the HAZMAT program?
The HAZMAT program is an ultraviolet study of red dwarfs of three different ages: young, intermediate and old.
NASA says that stellar eruptions of red dwarfs, fed by intense magnetic fields, shine in ultraviolet wavelengths compared to stars similar to those of the Sun. Magnetic fields entangle under the effect of vibrations of the stellar atmosphere.
Hubble's ultraviolet sensitivity is helping to monitor these outbreaks, says NASA.
When entanglement becomes too intense, the fields break and reconnect, releasing huge amounts of energy.
About three quarters of the stars in our galaxy are red dwarfs and the youngest red dwarves are about 40 million years old. According to NASA, terrestrial planets form around their stars.
Scientists say the eruptions of these younger red dwarfs are 100 to 1,000 times more energetic than when the stars are older.
Most of the galaxy's "living space" planets – planets orbiting their stars at a temperature where temperatures are moderate enough to leave liquid water on their surface – are probably red dwarfs in orbit.
In fact, the closest star to our Sun, a red dwarf named Proxima Centauri, has a planet the size of the Earth in its habitable zone.
The study examined the frequency of flares of 12 young red dwarfs. The observation program detected one of the most intense stellar eruptions ever observed in ultraviolet light.
The most powerful rocket – Hazflare
Nicknamed the "Hazflare", this event was more energetic than the most powerful light of our Sun ever recorded.
"Flares, like those observed, have the ability to strip the atmosphere of a planet. But that does not necessarily mean that life on the planet is dark and gloomy, "said Parke Loyd of Arizona State University in the United States.
"Life could be different than we imagine. Or, other processes could restore the atmosphere of the planet. It's certainly a difficult environment, but I would hesitate to say it's a sterile environment, "said Loyd.
"The goal of the HAZMAT program is to help understand the livability of the planets surrounding low-mass stars," said Evgenya Shkolnik of Arizona State University, the program's lead researcher.
(With PTI entries)
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