Scientists have suggested that life on exoplanets near red dwarfs may be microbial

An international team of scientists has described life that could exist on planets around the stars closest to the Sun. The study's findings are published by Popular Science.

Researchers led by Chris Doughty from Northern Arizona University studied the planets around the stars closest to the Sun and concluded that the only aliens on most of them could be bacteria. This is due to the fact that most of the exoplanets found are located around red dwarf stars. These stars are cooler than the Sun, which means that life on the planets orbiting them will develop more slowly.

First of all, conditions for photosynthesis are worse on such planets. They receive less light, and due to tidal locking, only one side always faces the star, halving the area available for photosynthesis. This slows down the accumulation of biomass and the evolution of complex life. As an example, scientists cited the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e near the star TRAPPIST-1 in the constellation Aquarius. The planet is older than Earth, but calculations have shown that it may contain only 21 percent of Earth's total fixed carbon, which corresponds to the microbial stage of life.

However, there are also encouraging findings. Three of the 29 planets studied may have enough carbon to be around Mesozoic levels, according to the study. At the same time, the scientists made a reservation that their research method is only one of the possible ones, and the more ancient evolutionary history of the planet does not mean the presence of highly developed inhabitants.