
How stars can limit life in the universe For the past few decades, scientists have been looking at planets outside of our solar system to see if they could host life. Now, scientists have discovered another factor for habitability: radiation from the planet’s central star.

In 1992, the discovery of planets outside of our solar system, called exoplanets, rocked the astronomy community and forever changed humanity’s search for life outside of Earth. With over four-thousand exoplanets found to date, scientists are challenged with determining which exoplanets could host life. Some planets…