Planets Like Earth Could Be Closer Than You Think
Red Dwarf Newest Ally In The Search For Habitable Planets like Earth. David A. Aguilar (CfA)A fresh look at planetary data from the Kepler space telescope provides new leads for Earth-like exo-planets. In the search for stars that can support Earth-like planets, red dwarfs in our galactic neighborhood may lead the way to discovery. Recent research reveals red dwarf stars might host more habitable planets in close orbits than previously thought--just as long as its exoplanets huddle in close enough for light (but not so close that molten lava blankets the surface). Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics took a second look at planetary data from NASA's Kepler telescope because NASA had overestimated the size and temperature of red dwarf stars. Courtney Dressing, a Harvard astronomer, adjusted the data and started looking for planets similar in size and temperature to Earth. Based on her calculations, 6 percent of the 75 billion...