M dwarf plasma torus offers window into space weather and planetary habitability

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Carnegie researcher Luke Bouma is using a naturally occurring plasma structure around certain young M dwarf stars as a kind of space weather station to investigate how stellar particles shape planetary environments and potential habitability. M dwarfs are smaller, cooler and dimmer than the Sun and commonly host at least one Earth-sized rocky planet, many of which are either too hot for liquid w