New Research Suggests Planets Orbiting Metal-Poor Stars May Be More Suitable for Life

A paper suggesting that planets located in the habitable zone of stars with low metal content may be the best targets for searching for potential life forms,Nature Communicationswill be published in

High levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation can cause genome damage in organisms. Oxygen and ozone in the Earth’s atmosphere keep harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation from the sun from reaching the Earth’s biosphere, but the amount of ultraviolet radiation varies from star to star. Low levels of UV radiation from stars are known to reduce the concentration of ozone in the planet’s atmosphere, making it less protective against UV radiation. However, the effect of stellar metallicity (the abundance of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium in a star) on UV protection and planetary habitability is unknown.

Anna Shapiro and colleagues build models of the atmospheres of hypothetical terrestrial planets host to stars with varying metallicity. As a result, it became clear that planets orbiting stars with low metal content have the property of blocking ultraviolet rays more strongly, which may affect the possibility of the existence of life. And although metallic-rich stars emit considerably less UV radiation than their metallic-poor counterparts, the surfaces of planets orbiting metallic-rich stars are stronger than the surfaces of planets orbiting metallic-poor stars. It was also found to be exposed to UV rays. Shapiro et al. suggest that planets orbiting metal-rich stars are not suitable for life, even though they receive relatively little UV radiation.

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-37195-4

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