A new survey led by a Georgia State University astronomy graduate student has provided significant data in the search for stars that could host Earth-like planets. Sebastián Carrazco-Gaxiola presented these findings at the January 2026 meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix, Arizona.
“This survey marks the first comprehensive look at thousands of the Sun’s lower-mass cousins,” Carrazco-Gaxiola said. “These stars, known as ‘K dwarfs,’ are commonly found throughout space, and they provide a long-term, stable environment for their planetary companions.”
The study focused on more than 2,000 K dwarf stars located within 130 light-years from Earth. The team collected precise spectral measurements using advanced spectrographs on two telescopes: the SMARTS 60-inch telescope at Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory in Chile and the Tillinghast Telescope at Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona. The use of telescopes in both hemispheres enabled coverage of K-dwarfs across the entire sky.
Allyson Bieryla, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, commented on the value of this approach: “The CHIRON spectrograph on the SMARTS telescope in Chile and the TRES spectrograph on the Tillinghast Telescope in Arizona are such complementary instruments. The power of having these two telescopes in opposite hemispheres is that it gives us access to all the K-dwarfs across the entire sky.”
K dwarf stars are somewhat cooler and dimmer than our Sun but outnumber Sun-like stars by about two to one in our local region of space. They also have longer lifespans than Sun-like stars, which could allow any life forms developing around their planets extended periods under steady conditions.
Analysis from this survey provides estimates for key properties such as temperature, age, spin rate, and motion through space for each star. The data also help identify features linked to magnetic activity that can influence planetary environments.
“This survey will be the foundation for studies of nearby stars for decades to come,” said Distinguished University Professor Todd Henry, who advised Carrazco-Gaxiola and is a senior author on the study. “These stars and their planets will be the destinations for spacecraft exploration in the far future of space travel.”
Carrazco-Gaxiola’s research is titled “An All-Sky Spectroscopic Reconnaissance of More Than 2,100 K Dwarfs Within 40 Parsecs Using High-Resolution Spectra.” It was selected for presentation at an American Astronomical Society press conference due to its broad scientific relevance. Further information about this research can be found on the American Astronomical Society website.
The project received funding from both NASA and the National Science Foundation. Additional institutional support came from Georgia State University’s College of Arts & Sciences and its Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development.
For more details about ongoing research at Georgia State University visit research.gsu.edu.
