- News

A study led by Yale University, using the Keck Telescope in Hawaii, has led astronomers to claim that galaxies older than ours have very different structures, with older galaxies likely to have 20 times more red dwarf stars than their more recent counterparts.

According to Yale's Professor Pieter van Dokkum, who led the research, the discovery also increases the estimate for the number of planets in the Universe and therefore greatly increases the likelihood of life existing elsewhere in the cosmos – with perhaps “trillions” of Earth-like worlds existing elsewhere.

He went on to say: "Red dwarfs are typically more than 10 billion years old and so have been around long enough for complex life to evolve on planets around them. It's one reason why people are interested in this type of star."

You can read the full story in the journal Nature.

Artist's impression of Red dwarf star CHRX 73 and companion object [Credits: NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI)]