Artist's Conception of Kappa Ceti (IMAGE)

Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

Artist's Conception of Kappa Ceti

Caption

In this artist's illustration, the young Sun-like star Kappa Ceti is blotched with large starspots, a sign of its high level of magnetic activity. New research shows that its stellar wind is 50 times stronger than our Sun's. As a result, any Earth-like planet would need a magnetic field in order to protect its atmosphere and be habitable. The physical sizes of the star and planet and distance between them are not to scale.

Credit

M. Weiss/CfA

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