By using Hubble Space Telescope, NASA scientists have found that violent flares from the Young Red Dwarf Stars may make planets orbiting it uninhabitable by affecting their atmospheres.
Hubble is observing such stars through a large programme called HAZMAT (Habitable Zones and M dwarf Activity across Time).
“M dwarf” is the astronomical term for a red dwarf star.
The purpose of the HAZMAT program is to help understand the habitability of planets around low-mass stars.
The word “HAZMAT” describes substances that pose a risk to the environment, or even to life itself.
The HAZMAT programme is an ultraviolet survey of red dwarfs at three different ages: young, intermediate, and old.
Red dwarf is the smallest, most abundant and longest-lived type of star in our galaxy.