The Formation of Stars and Planets at the Bottom of the Main Sequence

You cannot consider life on other worlds before first considering their host star. This determines their orbital period, the intensity of the radiation the planet receives and the distribution of wavelengths over which meaningful intensities of radiation are emitted. This chapter is dedicated to the two most abundant classes of stars in the universe: the M- and K-class dwarfs. Although the focus of the chapter is on the former, the latter receive some well-deserved and long overdue discussion and includes a detailed (yet necessarily speculative) account of the lives of K-dwarf stars, certainly an interesting niche for future research.