In its youth our Sun span ten times faster, with a much more powerful magnetic field and enormous sunspots covering it like vast continents on a planet, according to a meeting of minds at the Solar and Stellar Variability symposium at the International Astronomical Union’s General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro. As a result, it turns out that the Sun and Earth may not be the best locations for life in the Universe after all.

By looking at other stars that are analogues of our own Sun at different ages, a team led by Professor Edward Guinan of Villanova University, USA, was able to piece together the stages of the Sun’s history. They found that four billion years ago it took our Sun less than three days to make one revolution. This dizzying pace would have had the magnetic dynamo inside the Sun working overtime, creating a much more powerful magnetic field than the Sun possesses today. Enormous sunspots, which are magnetically driven, will have plagued its surface and the X-ray and ultraviolet radiation emitted would have been hundreds of times stronger than today – not a terribly comforting environment for life to get a foothold in. Not until two and a half billion years ago would there have been enough oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere to create an ozone layer to protect from the ultraviolet light emitted by the Sun. Prior to that, the radiation will have had a profound affect on burgeoning life by forcing mutations in its DNA.

“The ultraviolet and cosmic-ray environment around a star may very well have ‘chosen’ what type of life could arise around it,” says Manfred Cuntz of the University of Texas at Arlington, USA.

To this end, Guinan’s team speculate that our Sun isn’t really the best type of star for life to develop on planets around it. “Our studies indicate that the ideal stars to support planets suitable for life for tens of billions of years may be a smaller, slower burning orange dwarf with a longer lifetime than the Sun – about 20–40 billion years,” he says. “These stars, also called K-stars, are stable stars with a habitable zone that remains in the same place for tens of billions of years.”

These orange dwarfs are also ten times more common in the Universe, but Cuntz offers a word of caution. “The most significant damage [to biological systems] associated with ultraviolet light occurs from UV-C [short-wave ultraviolet], which is produced in enormous quantities in the photosphere of hotter F-type stars and further out, in the chromospheres, of cooler K-type and red M-type stars.”

For comparison, our Sun is a G-type star. The most habitable planets around these stars therefore may be ‘superearths’ several times more massive than our planet, with stronger gravity for retaining an atmosphere, and a more powerful magnetic field to protect against the ultraviolet onslaught, particularly when the star is young.

Nevertheless, Guinan is more than happy with the way things turned out here on Earth. “I would not trade [our Sun] – you can’t argue with success.”

The Planets
From tiny Mercury to distant Neptune and Pluto, The Planets profiles each of the Solar System's members in depth, featuring the latest imagery from space missions. The tallest mountains, the deepest canyons, the strongest winds, raging atmospheric storms, terrain studded with craters and vast worlds of ice are just some of the sights you'll see on this 100-page tour of the planets.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Hubble Reborn
Hubble Reborn takes the reader on a journey through the Universe with spectacular full-colour pictures of galaxies, nebulae, planets and stars as seen through Hubble's eyes, along the way telling the dramatic story of the space telescope, including interviews with key scientists and astronauts.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

3D Universe
Witness the most awesome sights of the Universe as they were meant to be seen in this 100-page extravaganza of planets, galaxies and star-scapes, all in 3D!
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

This special publication features the photography of British astro-imager Nik Szymanek and covers a range of photographic methods from basic to advanced. Beautiful pictures of the night sky can be obtained with a simple camera and tripod before tackling more difficult projects, such as guided astrophotography through the telescope and CCD imaging.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Explore the Universe with these new versions of the award-winning Starry Night Software. Available now from the Astronomy Now Store.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Astronomy Now is pleased to announce the publication of Exploring Mars. The very best images of Mars taken by orbiting spacecraft and NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers fill up the 98 glossy pages of this special edition!
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE