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RECENT DATA FROM KEPLER MISSION AND ANALYSIS OF SUN-IN-TIME OBSERVATIONS OF SOLAR PROXY STARS AT THE TIME WHEN LIFE STARTED ON EARTH HAS RECENTLY PROVIDED THE FIRST CLUES TO HOW THE EFFECTS OF SPACE WEATHER FROM THE YOUNG SUN AND ACTIVE STARS COULD HAVE IMPACTED THE EARLY EARTH AND MARS. HERE WE PROPOSE TESS 2-MIN AND 30-MIN CADENCE OBSERVATIONS OF A CAREFULLY SELECTED SAMPLE OF YOUNG SOLAR ANALOGS TO FOCUS ON A SINGLE QUESTION WITH FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE TO SEARCH FOR LIFE: WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF STELLAR ACTIVITY IN YOUNG SUNLIKE STARS AND HOW DOES IT IMPACT HABITABILITY ON ROCKY PLANETS IN THE SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD? WE PROPOSE TO ADDRESS THIS QUESTION BY OBSERVATIONALLY CHARACTERIZING AND CONSTRAINING MAGNETIC ACTIVITY IN SOLAR-TYPE STARS AT VARIOUS PHASES OF THEIR EVOLUTION. THE PROPOSED TESS OBSERVATIONS ARE PART OF A LARGE MULTI-WAVELENGTH MULTI-OBSERVATORY CAMPAIGN WHERE THE COMPLETE DATA SET WILL ALLOW US THEORETICALLY RECONSTRUCT SPACE WEATHER PROPERTIES INCLUDING CORONAL XUV AND ELECTROMECHANICAL FLUXES FROM WINDS IN SOLAR ANALOGS WITH AGES SPANNING BETWEEN 0.13 TO 2.5 GYR THE DATA DERIVED FROM TESS PROGRAM AND DATA-DRIVEN SIMULATIONS WILL PLACE CONSTRAINTS ON SPACE WEATHER PROPERTIES FROM SOLAR ANALOGS OF DIFFERENT AGES IN TERMS OF PATTERNS OF MAGNETIC ACTIVITY THAT MAY BE CRUCIAL FACTOR OF HABITABILITY OF EXOPLANETS AROUND THEM. THEY WILL ALSO PROVIDE IMPORTANT CONSTRAINTS FOR SELECTING THE MOST PROMISING TARGETS FOR DETAILED FOLLOW-UP OBSERVATIONS WITH JWST.

$39,537FY2020National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA

American University, Washington DC

Investigators

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