Life on planets orbiting red dwarfs?

[His Divine Shadow]

Is that possible? If the planet is close enough that the mean temperature is above zero and all the other requirements for life are filled?

[Zoink]

I don't see why not, the planet would just have to be closer to the star. The system would also have something like 30 billion years for life to happen. I don't know how close (you could probably search google for "star habitable zone") so maybe there would be other factors from being too close that might hinder life.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Probably, but to survive long enough with life-producing capabilities while orbiting a red dwarf is a difficult thing for a planet to do.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

Is that possible? If the planet is close enough that the mean temperature is above zero and all the other requirements for life are filled?

The planet would have to orbit so close to it's parent star that it becomes tidally locked. And this ignores the fact that a large number of red dwarves (like Proxima Centauri) are flare stars. This means they occasionally eject humongous flares that dramatically kick up their brightness. And, if these humongous flares cross the path of the theoretical planet, then any life that evolved there gets scrubbed away. If one had a reasonably stable red dwarf and a planet with life on it, the life would likely not become that advanced, due to the low amount of energy coming in from the parent star.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

Probably, but to survive long enough with life-producing capabilities while orbiting a red dwarf is a difficult thing for a planet to do.

Actually, red dwarves live for a very, very long time. Many tens of billions of years in some cases. Except that they don't put out much radiation and many are prone to producing giant stellar flares.

[The Third Man]

In 'Nemesis' Isaac Asimov got around the tidally locking problem and the low energy by making his habitable world a satellite of a gas giant/brown dwarf that in turn orbited the red dwarf.