News in Brief Astronomy

Faint red stars can build water worlds drip by drip

Sheer number of M dwarf systems makes them likely to host habitable exoplanets

MOST COMMON  Most warm rocky planets around faint red stars (illustrated) are probably dry, but it’s likely that there are enough such worlds with oceans to outnumber all other habitable environments in the galaxy.

JPL-Caltech/NASA

By Christopher Crockett

- More than 2 years ago

HONOLULU — The stars likely to have the most habitable planets may also have the hardest time importing water to these worlds, Gijs Mulders reported August 5 at a meeting of the International Astronomical Union.