Study: The drastic weather conditions at the closest star to our planet are bad news for life

Fareeha Arshad

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Previously, it was discovered that the closest star to the planet, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, is one of the most inhospitable places and cannot home any life form.

Wrapped in a never-ending ball of fire that is assumed to be over ten times more powerful than the Sun flares, the star can never allow the inhabitation of any form of life. However, that is not it: not only does the star not show any forms of life, but the deathly flares released from it have also dampened the hopes of researchers finding any habitable place close to it.

As per a recent study, the electromagnetic radiations released by Proxima Centauri in space are much larger than the Sun’s flares that will affect the life forms on the neighbouring planets. Two Earth-like planets were discovered near the star, one among which falls perfectly within the ‘habitable zone’ as per the scientists.

However, because of the deathly flares released by Proxima Centauri, these otherwise habitable planet's conditions may be rendered sterile. That is, the lethal ionising radiation can sterilise the planets altogether.

Proxima Centauri is our planet’s closest neighbour and lies just over four light years away. Researchers believe that a habitable zone exists on the planets near, so there is a chance of discovering extraterrestrial life forms on it. However, with the news of the strong stellar flares, there is bad news for the researchers searching for the possibility of extraterrestrial life forms.

With such observations, researchers believe it is not good news for the space weather or scientists trying to find life on planets close to the red dwarf stars.

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I am a scientist by profession and a historian by passion. I mostly write about history and science.

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