Even Near Pulsars, Life May Find a Way

(Credit: NASA) Exoplanets have dominated astronomy news so much in recent years, some people are getting sick of them. It’s funny to think that their existence has only been confirmed for 25 years. Before astronomers announced in 1992 that pulsar B1257+12 had a couple of planets in tow, the idea of planets existing beyond our solar system was just that, an idea. It made sense, but no one had ever seen any. The not-so-secret motivation behind exoplanet research nowadays is the hope of one day finding an Earth twin, a world that could — or even does — support life. Pulsars are radiation-spewing monsters, so the first exoplanets couldn’t possibly support life, and they’ve gradually faded from the spotlight. But a new paper in Astronomy & Astrophysics suggests we shouldn’t have been so hasty. Pulsar Protection The most exciting exoplanet finds are those that orbit within their host star’s habitable ...