Stellar migration may greatly increase the number of habitable planets in the Milky Way. Future ESA missions will test these predictions with detailed exoplanet observations.
What can the Galactic Habitable Zone (GHZ)—the region of a galaxy where complex life is thought most likely to arise—reveal about identifying stars that might host habitable planets?
A recent study, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, set out to answer this by examining how the movement of stars, known as stellar migration, could affect the search for life-supporting worlds in the Milky Way. The work, carried out by an international research team, offers new insights into the astrophysical conditions that may determine where habitable planets form and how life might develop beyond Earth.
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