Hi Robert
The latest planet formation modelling suggests that the inner reaches of a red dwarf's protoplanetary disk will be under-supplied with mass and only able to make Mercury-to-Mars mass planets (0.05 - 0.1 Earth masses.) If they're stable at all. So red dwarfs will probably have chilled super-Earths/dwarf-Neptunes, and warm and sunny Mars-like planets. Decent for ambitious terraforming efforts, but not conducive to native life, as a Mars-like planet won't hang on to its atmosphere with red-dwarf flares and higher energy impactors.
But all such processes are stochastic too. Oligarchic formation is dominated by late accretion events. Two Mars-mass oligarchs might be stirred up enough to precess and eventually collide, so who knows? We won't, til we go look. And terraforming Mars-like planets in the Hab-Zone will be easier than doing it to the real Mars.
Adam
Space/Science » in reply to Red Dwarfs
re: Red Dwarfs
