THE search for faraway planets that could harbour life is getting warmer. A handful of red-dwarf stars have been found with rings of dusty debris around them that appear to be the signature of planet formation.
The finding is significant because though such small, dim stars were not thought to be likely places to find Earth-like planets, any planets around them are relatively easy to find. Until now, only six red dwarfs had been found with the telltale discs of dusty debris, common around sun-like stars, that are thought to be kicked up by small bodies crashing into each other…
