There may be more habitable planets out there than we once thought. Astronomers have discovered that cloud behavior on planets orbiting red dwarfs actually doubles how many are habitable. The finding means that in the Milky Way galaxy alone, there are approximately 60 billion planets that may be orbiting red dwarf stars in the habitable zone.
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In order to better study planets that orbit red dwarfs and their clouds, the researchers used computer simulations of cloud behavior on alien worlds. Because red dwarfs are smaller and cooler than our own sun, planets need to have a closer orbit in order to be able to support life. In fact, these worlds orbit their stars about once every two months in order to receive the same amount of sunlight as Earth. This, in turn, means that these planets eventually become tidally locked with their sun; the worlds always keep the same side facing the sun, like the moon does toward the Earth. This, in turn, would mean that the star-facing side would experience vigorous convection and highly reflective clouds.