Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Wolf 359, a nearby red dwarf, blasts extreme X-ray and UV radiation, making life nearly impossible for most planets in its orbit.
Intense solar flares and radiation bursts would strip atmospheres from planets in the habitable zone, leaving them barren and lifeless.
To endure, a planet would need thick greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, and be far from the star, reducing exposure to deadly radiation.
Led by Scott Wolk of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, researchers found that planets too close would lose their atmosphere in just a million years.
Scientists have hints of two planets around Wolf 359, but their existence is debated—and neither sits in the so-called habitable zone.
A planet at the outer edge of the habitable zone might retain an atmosphere for billions of years, thanks to trapped heat from greenhouse gases.
Wolf 359 erupted in 18 X-ray flares over just 3.5 days—a brutal space weather that could wipe out any emerging life.
Red dwarfs burn for trillions of years, giving life time to evolve—but their violent flares and radiation storms make it nearly impossible for complex life to survive.
The study suggests that any planet near Wolf 359 would fight a losing battle against radiation, making true habitability a long shot at best.