Identify places that may be flooded with aliens

American scientists have identified special star systems where up to one-third of the planets could be filled with water and life, not just a single Earth like in the Solar System.

A US research team has turned its attention to red dwarfs, stars much smaller and cooler than the Sun. Their work suggests that they are the type of star with the greatest potential to host life.

"These stars are excellent targets for searching for small planets in orbits where water could be liquid and therefore potentially habitable," co -author Sheila Sagear from the University of Florida (USA) told Sci -News .

Graphic image of Gliese 414, a red dwarf star system believed to contain a habitable planet - (Photo: SCI-NEWS).

Dr Gagear's team measured the eccentricity of a sample of 150 planets around M-type red dwarf stars.

They found that many of the planets would be located very close to the red dwarf, at an approximate distance of Mercury and the Sun or less.

These planets are subjected to a process called tidal heating by their host star, literally baking them and potentially eliminating any chance of having liquid water. But up to a third of the observed planets lie outside this orbit and have other factors that could allow them to retain liquid water.

Liquid water is very important, for example, the Solar System has 3 planets in the "habitable zone" but Venus and Mars cannot retain liquid water so they are not habitable or have life but are extinct, according to research.

And they must be planets in red dwarf star systems with many planets, because the interactions between planets often help them possess circular and stable orbits, which is also suitable for life.

This means that our Milky Way galaxy is a promising place to hunt for alien life, since red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the galaxy.