Red Dwarf ( dM ) stars are overwhelmingly the most numerous stars in our Galaxy .
These cool , faint and low mass stars make up > 80 % of all stars .
Also dM stars have extremely long life times ( > 50-100 Gyr ) .
Determining the number of red dwarfs with planets and assessing planetary habitability ( a planet ’ s potential to develop and sustain life ) is critically important because such studies would indicate how common life is in the universe .
Our program – “ Living with a Red Dwarf ” – addresses these questions by investigating the long-term nuclear evolution and the coronal and chromospheric properties of red dwarf stars with widely different ages ( \sim 50 Myr – 12 Gyr ) .
One major focus of the program is to study the magnetic-dynamo generated coronal and chromospheric X-ray-FUV/UV emissions and flare properties of a sample of dM0–5 stars .
Observations carried out by FUSE of a number of young to old dM stars provide important data for understanding transition region heating in these stars with deep convective zones as well as providing measures of FUV irradiances .
Also studied are the effects of X-ray–FUV emissions on possible hosted planets and impacts of this radiation on their habitability .
Using these data we are constructing irradiance tables ( X–UV irradiances ) that can be used to model the effects of XUV radiation on planetary atmospheres and possible life on planetary surfaces .
The initial results of this program are discussed .