held within its habitable zone. As tantalising as it
seems to have an Earth-like planet so close to Earth
itself, however, Proxima b’s habitability is sadly
deemed ‘unlikely’, as astronomers witnessed a super
f lare erupt from Proxima that would have doused
the planet in huge amounts of ultraviolet radiation.
Red dwarf targets are not as doomed as the
pulsars, white dwarfs or even Proxima b, however,
as these stars could hold some of the most exciting
prospects for life beyond our Solar System. A
popular example is TRAPPIST-1, the ultra-cool
red dwarf star, and its seven planets. This star is
about12percentthesizeofourSunandburns
atameasly2,220degreesCelsius(4,000degrees
Fahrenheit), yet it holds planets that astronomers
believe could hold something special.
Possibilities are endless when it comes to
theuniverse,andnoonecandenythatoneof
these phantom wolds around seemingly dead,
insignificant stars could prove to be some of the
most stimulating prospects around. These systems
could even hold clues as to the fate of the Solar
SystemandwhatistohappentoEarth.Right: The
TRAPPIST-1
planetary
system is
arguably the
most exciting
prospect within
exoplanet
© NASA/JPL-Caltech; ESO; Nicholas Forder; research
Theseworldscanbefoundinthemostunlikelyplaces-hereare
some examples of the least friendly locationsLife around a white dwarf
Although no planetary system has been confirmed
aroundawhitedwarfasofyet,thereisvery
strong evidence to the theory that second-
generation planets can form around a white dwarf
and give off an infrared glow.4 Red dwarf members
Red dwarf stars are the most common
stars found in our local population, but
they don’t have the same energy output
as the Sun. This could have serious
complications for any Earth-like
planet’s global temperature and
photosynthetic processes.Phantom planets and where to find them
3 Pulsar planets
Neutronstars–which
are essentially pulsars
viewed from a different
angle – have been known to
harbour planets since 1992,
but these stars release
a tremendous amount
of harmful radiation that
would likely damage any
world in its vicinity.Supernova ejection
Rogue planets wonder
aimlessly through space,
andasupernovacanpropel
them into the abyss. There
is the possibility that rogue
planets could sustain life if
theirsourceofheatrelies
upon internal heating
processes.Phantom worlds