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Red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the universe, and nearly every one of these stars may have a planet located in its habitable zone where life has the best chance of existing, a new study concludes.
This discovery may increase the chances that alien life could exist elsewhere in the cosmos, researchers say. They detailed their findings in the International Journal of Astrobiology. Red dwarfs, also known as M dwarf stars, are up to 50 times dimmer than the Sun and are just 10 to 20 percent as massive. They make up to 70 percent of the stars in the universe.
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Red Dwarf Stars Might be Best Places to Discover Alien Life
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
A priest advised Voltaire on his death bed to renounce the devil.
Replied Voltaire, "This is no time to make new enemies."
(Score: 2) by velex on Thursday August 14 2014, @03:20AM
The real question here is how long an intelligent lifeform can maintain radio communications. If the answer is maybe 200-ish years or so, then we'll never contact other intelligent life. Yes, intelligent life that may be very strange to our own notions is totally out there (like totally, man), but it was transmitting while we were in the last dark age or else while we're in the next dark age.
How long has our species been transmitting to the stars? How long until we stop transmitting to the stars? We've only made one serious attempt to transmit, although I can't remember the name of the project. Think Mork and Mindy (god rest his weary soul, if there are such things as gods or souls) are going to be received 50 lightyears out? Of course not.
I've often thought that a serious attempt to contact other civilizations (and strange new life forms!) would take a project, the duration of which must be measured in millennia. It would involve powerful transmissions to hopeful worlds and the careful listening for any kind of response. Also, we must reckon with Dr. Hawking's idea that any civilization that would make contact with us would do so in a militaristic way. Sagan or Hawking lol. Take your stance.
So, we're at the mercy of our own nature. Perhaps other civilizations are as well. Who's going to get Congress to fund a project that spans millennia? That person would have more of a golden tongue than I can imagine.