About this episode
The episode discusses the discovery of Earth-sized planets around red dwarf stars and the implications for extraterrestrial life.
Astronomers continue to be delighted when they discover an Earth sized planet. Scientists were thus very disappointed when the red dwarf star hosting the nearest such planet, Proxima b some 4.2 light years away, turns out to have the nasty habit of emitting bursts of radiation which are likely to sterilize and/or remove the atmospheres of it's family of planets. Recently, hope of finding a nearby Earth was rekindled when scientists at the European Southern observatory in Chile discovered a small planet circling what appears to be a quiet well behaved red dwarf star 11 light years from us. Astronomers are not yet sure that this newly discovered Earth sized planet lies within it's stars habitable zone where liquid water could exist on it's surface. Jumping the gun, ET enthusiasts have beamed a friendly message in the direction of another nearby red dwarf planet system. Their target the super Earth planet, GJ 273b is located some 12.4 light years away near the bright star Sirius in the constellation of Canis Major. At this distance a civilization on GJ 273b could have already received a picture of humanity by deciphering 'I love Lucy' and other TV signals it has been picking up for…
People in this episode
Host: Albert D. Grauer
Topics covered
- red dwarf stars
- Earth sized planets
- astronomy discoveries
- habitable zones
- extraterrestrial life
- radiation effects
Keywords
- red dwarf
- Proxima b
- GJ 273b
- habitable zone
- astronomy
- radiation
- Earth sized planet
- extraterrestrial life
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Proxima b, European Southern observatory, Chile, GJ 273b, Sirius, Canis Major, Earth
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