Habitable Exoplanets: Red Dwarf Systems Like TRAPPIST-1

by Mathew Anderson

Amazon Best Selling Author - #1 in Astronomy, Astrophysics & Space Science, and Cosmology

Explore the chance of life and civilization on exotic exoplanets around the most unique type of star in the Universe - red dwarfs! In a short and comprehensive read, get a peek at how habitable these worlds might be, and how civilization might survive on a tidally locked planet with perpetual day and night sides.

A common misconception is that our own star type, G-class, is the most common type and size of star. This is far from reality. Red Dwarfs (comprising of both late K-type and all M-type) are at least 70% of all stars in the Milky Way galaxy. While life has been located around our own star type (as we are here to talk about that revelation), it would be shortsighted to ignore the vast majority stars because we have assumptions about how inhospitable they may be for life — assumptions that are quickly being overturned.

“To consider the Earth as the only populated world in infinite space is as absurd as to assert that in an entire field sown with millet, only one grain will grow.” - Metrodorus of Chios, 4th century BCE.

KEY SECTIONS

- Introducing Red Dwarf Stars
- Surprise! Red Dwarfs Host Planets Too
- Red Dwarf Planetary Systems
- Making a Red Dwarf Planet Habitable
- A Star's Temperament
- A Planet's Shielding
- Water Worlds
- A Delicate Balance
- Introducing Tidally Locked Worlds
- Civilization on a Tidally Locked World
- A New Generation of Telescopes
- Summary: A Universe Filled with Habitable Exoplanets

BASIC HABITABILITY CHECKLIST

- Is the star past its early years of active flaring?
- Does the planet have a magnetic field of any kind?
- Does the planet have an atmosphere?
- Is there any kind of atmospheric recycling occurring?
- Does the planet have liquid water on its surface?
- And for the support of a technological civilization, does the planet have between 10-40% land coverage?

"Given all that we have covered in this book, if I were to sum up the chances of finding complex life around a red dwarf star, a star that’s at least a couple of billions of years old, I would personally rate the chance at 1 of 5 (20%). This percentage is still nearly twice as many stars as the total of all Sun-like stars in our galaxy. By this statistic alone, red dwarf worlds demand all the telescope time they can get." - Mathew Anderson

I hope you enjoy reading this relatively short but big picture view of the habitability of red dwarf exoplanets!

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

63 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 13, 2018

About the author

After his memoir about teaching English in China, 'China and the High Roads Beyond', Mathew worked on 'Our Cosmic Story' (now also published with associated short stories here on Goodreads).

Creating Our Cosmic Story was an amazing journey that started by speaking with experts in a multitude of fields. The new book describes the formation of our solar system, biological evolution on Earth, historical civilizations and the eventual exploration of space, to the chance of life and civilizations to occur elsewhere in the cosmos.

You can learn more about Our Cosmic Story at: http://www.ourcosmicstory.com

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A good popular science book about the hunt for habitable exoplanets, and how many of them orbit red dwarf stars. If this is so, then life on those planets may little resemble that with which we are familiar.

Very interesting.

[Alan Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very superficial. Does have links to other articles for additional reading.


Received a complementary copy via #GoodreadsGiveaways

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is a wonderful read if you are interested in planets or anything that involves space.It is about the most interesting and common star which is the red dwarf and planetary systems around theses red dwarfs. The book also speaks of the future we may have on these planets that orbit a re dwarf,. I liked this book because I love reading about space and anything involved with space. I find it very interesting and a lot of times very fascinating. The things I learned from reading this were fantastic and numerous. I learned that some worlds in space are completely covered in water, some are tidally locked ( this means they do not rotate while orbiting but stay on one side where a half is light and the other half is dark), 75% of the milky way galaxy is made up of red dwarfs, planets shielding themselves, and the temperament of the stars and how violent they are. It also went over what we need as a civilization to survive on a planet and the checklist of things we need to thrive. We need an atmosphere (obviously), a magnetic field to protect us against solar flares, a sun that is passed its stage of active flaring, and water on the planet as well a large area of land coverage. Overall this book was very interesting and I would recommend it to people who love space and would give it a four out of five on the review.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clear and concise discussion of red dwarf systems and the possibility of habitable planets. Written in a way that can be understood by just about anyone this book discusses the possibility of life around such suns.
I received this book as part of a GoodReads giveaway but the opinions expressed are solely my own.

[Case Tatro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is interesting and concise, but suffers from a few typos and having definitions at the beginning of the chapter rather than using footnotes as the reader encounters the different types of stars. I think the latter would have resulted in less flipping back and forth. Overall a pretty solid book.

[W. Derek Atkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Gem of a Book!

I bought this book because I’m doing research for a science fiction novel I’m writing, and I wanted to know more about exoplanets. This gem of a book is a quick read, and is very accessible for lay readers. Although the author focuses on planets in Red Dwarf systems, and more specifically the TRAPPIST-1 System, this book is an excellent introduction to exoplanets. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about exoplanets, and the possibilities for life on other worlds.

[Márcio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red dwarfs are the longest-lived stars in the universe, with a lifespan that can range from tens of billions to trillions of years, depending on their mass, for burning slowly, besides being very efficient at using their hydrogen fuel. It was believed such stars could not harbor planets. Yet, they do, though the conditions for life on these planets might not be quite the best.

Though it is such a short book, it is quite good and informative, and it was a joy reading it.

[James Francis McEnanly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A guide to the current state of knowledge of planets of Red Dwarf stars

Most of our research into exoplanets centers around yellow dwarf stars like our Sun. However, there are more Red dwarfs than yellow. This book tells about the conditions that we are likely to find around such stars. It is comprehensive as well as readable.

[Lawrence Ryan Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very y informative book on the subject at hand.

Would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject I was impressed by his overall knowledge of the conditions need to have life.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for those interested in Exoplanets