Astronomers have examined the stars that a new space telescope might target, to prepare for one of the most advanced searches for life on other planets. They found out which star systems might be more suitable to hunt for potential life.
In the 2040s, NASA plans to launch the Habitable Worlds Observatory（HWO）. Its big goal is to image about 25Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of sun-like stars-where water and even life could exist. Before building the HWO, scientists are working on significant challenges it will face.
One of those is choosing stars within around 100 light years from Earth that the telescope might target. Caleb Harada at the University of California, Berkeley, and his team analyzed 164 potential stars to determine their characteristics. These stars could become some of the most studied stars ever.
Harada and his team discovered that 102 of the stars are binaries（双子星）, which could make the search for life more complex. The HWO telescope will use a tool to block out the stars' light to attempt to image planets in orbit and study the gases in their atmospheres. "If binaries are too close together, the light from the unblocked star will be so bright that it'll cover up the planets and make them hard to see," explains Bruce Macintosh from the University of California Observatories.
Out of all the stars, 33 have dust rings that could make it hard to see planets clearly. "This makes exploring harder," says Harada. "Some stars also sometimes burst into bright flames, like our sun's flares, which aren't always deadly. But we need to check closely that they're not too strong, because these can affect life and living conditions," explains Harada.
