Giant magnetic doughnuts of plasma can strip the atmospheres off nearby planets
Massive rings of cool plasma trapped by the magnetic fields of young M dwarf stars act as destructive 'doughnuts' that can strip away the atmospheres of orbiting exoplanets with intense radiation.
Young M dwarf stars, which make up 75 percent of the stars in our galaxy, often host massive plasma tori within their magnetospheres. These doughnut-shaped structures of cool plasma can span tens of Earth radii and rotate up to 20 times faster than our Sun. While Earth has the protective Van Allen belts, these stellar versions are vastly more energetic and dense.
There's more to this story — open the app to keep reading.
Continue Reading in App
1 more paragraphs · plus a 3-question quiz