Solar storms key to life on Earth

                Powerful solar explosions on the adolescent sun may have provided the crucial energy needed to warm Earth and create complex molecules necessary for life, despite the star’s faintness four billion years ago, according to a new NASA study.

                Understanding what conditions were necessary for life on our planer helps trace both the origins of life on earth and guide the search for life on other planets. Until now, mapping evolution has been hindered by the fact that the young Sun was not luminous enough. Four billion years ago, the sun shone with only about three-quarters the brightness we see today, but its surface roiled with giant eruptions spewing enormous amounts of solar material and radiation. These solar explosions may have provided the energy to warm earth.