Water Retention on Earth-Like Planets Around Variable Stars

What can star variability—changes in a star’s brightness over time—teach astronomers about exoplanet habitability? This is what a recent study accepted to The Astronomical Journal hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the interaction between a star’s activity and exoplanetary atmospheres. This study has the potential to help astronomers better understand how star variability plays a role in finding habitable exoplanets, specifically around stars that are different from our Sun.