Which star types did Margaret Turnbull favor for NASA’s Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF)?
Answer
Nearby K-dwarfs and G-dwarfs.
Margaret Turnbull developed a "habstar" list that prioritized stars old enough for life to evolve and that were similar to the Sun. For planned direct-imaging missions like NASA’s Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF), her favored targets included nearby K-dwarfs, exemplified by Epsilon Eridani, and G-dwarfs, such as Tau Ceti. This focus highlights the practical reality in astrobiology where the feasibility of current or near-future technology often dictates the selection of nearby targets, even if statistically less habitable stars exist farther away.
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