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Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Surface Mapping of Earth-like Exoplanets using Single Point Light Curves
Published on: May 10, 2020
Stellar aspects of habitability--characterizing target stars for terrestrial planet-finding missions
Lisa Kaltenegger1, Carlos Eiroa, Ignasi Ribas
1Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. lkaltene@cfa.harvard.edu
Abstract:
We present and discuss the criteria for selecting potential target stars suitable for the search for Earth-like planets, with a special emphasis on the stellar aspects of habitability. Missions that search for terrestrial exoplanets will explore the presence and habitability of Earth-like exoplanets around several hundred nearby stars, mainly F, G, K, and M stars. The evaluation of the list of potential target systems is essential in order to develop mission concepts for a search for terrestrial exoplanets. Using the Darwin All Sky Star Catalogue (DASSC), we discuss the selection criteria, configuration-dependent subcatalogues, and the implication of stellar activity for habitability.
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