Even though Proxima b is orbiting the star closest to our solar system, it is still 4.3 light years aways, which roughly translates to slightly more than 25 trillion miles. Another thing yet to be known is if the planet has a protective magnetic field to protect it from the radiation it receives from the Proxima Centauri. The planet is at the right distance to its star to have liquid water, the essential element of life as we know it.
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It’s about 1.3 times the size of Earth and whips around its star much faster than we do: its year is just 11.2 of our days. The faint red star in the center of the red circle is Proxima Centauri.
That star, though invisible to the naked eye, is only 4.2 light-years from Earth, making it our nearest stellar neighbor.
As per the findings the Earth-like planet is only a fraction bigger than our planet and has a rocky surface.
Artist’s rendition of Proxima Centauri/Proxima B. Credit: Nature. The proximity of this new planet means scientists will have an easier time doing follow-up studies to learn more about it and even obtain images.
Scientists discovered “Proxima b” with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher, and found a slight “wobble” of gravity tugging on the star Poxima Centauri.
Anyone passionate about astronomy and excited by the discovery will now have the opportunity to explore this whole new world live online.
He said scientists had ” hit the jackpot here”, adding that the planet is “more or less what we have on Earth”. And Stephen Hawking is supporting a plan to send a probe to nearby Alpha Centauri.
“This is very exciting”, said U-T astronomer Michael Endle who was part of the team that made the discovery. But as to whether it is potentially habitable, “it’s all down to how we define habitability”, Cohen says.
Indeed, it lies in the so-called “Goldilocks”, or habitable zone, a range of orbits where the presence of liquid water on the surface is possible given sufficient atmospheric pressure.
“Many exoplanets have been found and many more will be found, but searching for the closest potential Earth-analogue and succeeding has been the experience of a lifetime for all of us”, the study author continued. The reason being, Proxima Centauri is the closest star to our Sun. “My first impression is that it wouldn’t be”, Guinan says.
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“Chances are good that it’s a viable, Earth-like planet today”, said astronomer Pedro Amado, with the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Granada, Spain.
