Planets hosted by "metal-poor" stars may be more suitable for the development of life

Complex, multicellular life on Earth requires the oxygen of which ozone is formed, resulting in a level of UV radiation at the surface acceptable for its development and growth.

Stellar emissions and planetary protection from ultraviolet radiation depend on the effective temperature of the host star.

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While for a small planet, ultraviolet exposure could be necessary for spontaneous formation, high levels of ultraviolet radiation damage the genome and pose a threat to all forms of life.

A recent study found that stars that produce more ultraviolet light are more likely to host exoplanets with life.

The study says that planets located in the habitable zones of stars, which do not contain a lot of metals in their atmospheres, may be the best targets for the search for life.

Stars that contain relatively large amounts of heavy elements provide less favorable conditions for the emergence of complex life than metal-poor stars, according to scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and Chemistry as well as from the University of Göttingen.

High levels of ultraviolet radiation can damage DNA in life forms.

On Earth, oxygen in the atmosphere and the ozone layer protect the planet from harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation from the sun. However, the amount of ultraviolet radiation emitted varies from one star to another.

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It is known that lower levels of UV radiation result in lower levels of planetary ozone, and therefore less UV protection.

Writing in the journal Nature Communications , the scientists said : 'During the evolution of the universe, newly formed stars gradually became more metal-rich, exposing living organisms to intense ultraviolet radiation. Our findings suggest that planets hosted by low-metallic stars are the best targets for research.' about complex life on Earth.

However, the effect of stellar metallicity (the abundance of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium in a star) on UV protection and whether or not a planet is habitable is not clear.

Anna Shapiro at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany and her colleagues modeled the atmospheres of hypothetical Earth-like planets hosted by stars with an array of metals.

They found that planets around metal-poor stars would have more protection from ultraviolet radiation, which could have implications for potential life.

According to scientists, planets orbiting metal-rich stars are less suitable for life despite receiving comparatively less ultraviolet radiation.