Kepler data showed us that habitable zone Earth-sized planets are more plentiful around red dwarf stars. But Gaia data says otherwise.
This artist's concept illustrates a young, red dwarf star surrounded by three planets. Are Earth-sized planets more common around red dwarfs? Image Credit: By NASA/JPL-Caltech - NASA Image of the Day, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17104843
New research digs into the issue and explains what’s happened since Kepler, and how its data needs a rethink. The paper is “” It’s been accepted into The Astronomical Journal and is currently available on the pre-press site arxiv.org. The lead author is Galen Bergsten, from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona.
Illustration of the Kepler spacecraft. Kepler’s mission is over, but not the discussion about its data. This research arrives at new numbers based an both Kepler’s data and Gaia’s data. The new numbers are far lower than initial estimates and extrapolations. “The updated sample’s paucity of Earth-sized habitable zone planet detections means that Kepler offers no evidence supporting an increased number of Earth-sized habitable planets around M dwarfs compared to FGK stars,” the authors write.
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