The presence of alien life existing on other worlds, including our nearest Earth-like planet, Proxima b, is less likely than previously thought, experts have found.
A study reveals the rocky planet, which is just 4.2 light years away and exists in the habitable zone of its star, is being constantly hit with deadly radiation.
It orbits the red-dwarf star Proxima Centauri and previous research has found it could be home to liquid water and therefore able to support life.
But the new research from astronomers at the University of Sydney shows red dwarf stars like Proxima Centauri regularly belch out huge amounts of ionizing radiation in via solar flares and radio bursts which would kill all life.
Proxima b is likely within this danger zone and is probably showered by the sterilizing particles, researchers say.
Pictured, a not-to-scale representation of how far away Proxima B is from Earth compared to Voyager 1, the farthest man-made object which was launched in 1977
Astronomers from the University of Sydney observed solar flares and radio bursts from nearby star Proxima Centauri to study the impact on planets in its system
The red dwarf star is our closest stellar neighbor and is cooler than the Sun, therefore its so-called habitable zone is a closer to its fiery surface.
As a consequence of this, Proxima B is berated with radiation, making life unlikely.
Red dwarf stars are the most common in the Milky Way, accounting for about 85 per cent of the 100 billion stars in our galaxy compared to 7 per cent of Sun-like stars.
It is unlikely life will form on planets orbiting these plentiful but small stars - although that still leaves billions of Sun-like stars that could have life-hosting worlds.
Australian researchers created the first weather forecast for our nearest celestial neighbour to better understand the impact of a close orbit on the chance of life.
Unfortunately, the reports from Proxima Centauri are not promising for 'finding life as we know it.'
Habitable zones closer than Earth's are unlikely to be home to any form of life and therefore, Proxima Centauri, and any other stars smaller than our sun, are likely at the centre of barren solar systems.
Study leader Dr Andrew Zic, of Macquarie University, Sydney, said: 'Astronomers have recently found there are two "Earth-like" rocky planets around Proxima Centauri, one within the "habitable zone" where any water could be in liquid form.'
'But given Proxima Centauri is a cool, small red-dwarf star, it means this habitable zone is very close to the star - much closer in than Mercury is to our Sun.
'What our research shows is this makes the planets very vulnerable to dangerous ionising radiation that could effectively sterilise them.'
Proxima B's discovery four years ago generated huge excitement as it suggested alien life might be right on our doorstep - astronomically speaking.
These exoplanets are 25 trillion miles, or 4.2 light years, from Earth and would therefore take thousands of years to get there using current technology.
NASA Voyager 1 is the farthest man-made spacecraft from Earth after its 5 September 5, 1977 launch. Travelling at the speed of light, it would take just 21 hours, four minutes and 22 seconds to catch up to it.
However, there are ideas being worked on that could see tiny spacecraft sent using lasers at 20 per cent of the speed of light, rapidly speeding up the potential travel time. If these were ever successfully manufactured, humans could send a craft to Proxima b with a travel time of just 21 years.
But this discovery means the possibility of travelling to Proxima b to find a second home, or pre-existing life, is remote.
'It seems likely the galaxy's most common stars - red dwarfs - won't be great places to find life as we know it,' explained Dr Zic.
'Our own Sun regularly emits hot clouds of ionised particles during what we call 'coronal mass ejections.
'But given the Sun is much hotter than Proxima Centauri and other red-dwarf stars, our "habitable zone" is far from the Sun's surface, meaning the Earth is a relatively long way from these events.
'Further, the Earth has a very powerful planetary magnetic field that shields us from these intense blasts of solar plasma.'
In this image from the Hubble Space Telescope is our relative neighbour Proxima Centauri, a low mass star in the triple-star Alpha Centauri system. Proxima Centauri is not visible to the naked eye due to its small size - eight times smaller than the Sun
There are now more than 4,000 known exoplanets - those revolving around stars beyond the solar system. This has boosted hopes of finding extraterrestrial life.
The findings published in The Astrophysical Journal were based on observational data from space and land based telescopes that captured the phenomenon in 'amazing detail.'
They show planets around these stars are likely to be showered with stellar flares and plasma ejections on a regular basis, according to the researchers.
It suggests they suffer strong atmospheric erosion - leaving them exposed to very intense X-rays and ultraviolet radiation.
Dr Zic said: 'Red dwarf radio bursts might happen for different reasons than on the Sun, where they are usually associated with coronal mass ejections.
'But it's highly likely there are similar events associated with the stellar flares and radio bursts we have seen in this study.'
Coronal mass ejections are hugely energetic expulsions of ionised plasma and radiation leaving the stellar atmosphere.
Co-author Dr Bruce Gendre, of Western Australia University, said: 'Understanding space weather is critical for understanding how our own planet biosphere evolved - but also for what the future is.'
Magnetic fields like Earth's have never been identified around an exoplanet - and finding them could prove tricky.
Dr Zic said: 'But even if there were magnetic fields, given the stellar proximity of habitable zone planets around red dwarf stars, this might not be enough to protect them.'
The Proxima Centauri observations were taken with the CSIRO’s Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope in Western Australia, the Zadko Telescope at the University of Western Australia and a suite of other instruments.
Professor Tara Murphy from the University of Sydney said the data was incredible and allowed them to view the stellar flare from Proxima Centauri over its full evolution in 'amazing detail'.
'Most importantly, we can see polarized light, which is a signature of these events. It’s a bit like looking at the star with sunglasses on.'
When ASKAP is fully operational it may be possible to observe similar events on other nearby stars to get a greater insight into space weather.
'The findings have been published in The Astrophysical Journal.