A new planet discovered orbiting the closest star to Earth’s solar system could have the conditions to harbour life, according to a team of global scientists. But the most significant part of the study is that the scientists believe that Proxima b could be the next potential “abode” to cater to life outside the Solar System.
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ESO astronomers with the Pale Red Dot project announced the presence of a habitable planet orbiting our closest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri.
Astronomers consider the habitable zone of a star to be anyplace where liquid water can exist on the surface.
The global team, led by scientists from Queen Mary University of London, discovered the new planet after observing a “doppler wobble” – the effect caused by the planet’s gravitational tug on the motion of its host star. Accordingly, scientists have called the newly discovered planet “Proxima b”.
“The spectacular finding about this, of course, is that this system is so close to our Earth and solar system”, said Angsgar Reiners, a German scientist who is among the research’s co-authors.
To determine whether the planet is truly suitable for life, Endl said researchers must find out whether it has an atmosphere or magnetic field, like Earth does. This could bring Proxima b within reach in decades. They were able to spot a “wobble” in the star’s position being caused by the interaction with the planet’s gravity. Proxima Centauri is the star closest to our sun.
Given it’s the closest exoplanet we know of that could harbor life or be our second home if somebody is irresponsible with nuclear codes, Proxima b is a likely first destination for interstellar probes, when the technology allows.
Astronomers first noticed the suggestion of an alien world at Proxima Centauri in 2013, but the red dwarf star is so faint – and constantly outshined by the stellar duo Alpha Centauri AB – that confirming the presence of an exoplanet proved extremely hard.
Before 1995, exoplanets – planets outside our solar system – were only theoretical. It takes about 11 Earth-days for Proxima-b to complete one orbit around its star, but takes 83 Earth-days to make one full planetary rotation.
The Washington Post notes that at 4million miles away, the planet is closer to its sun than we are to ours. However, Proxima b’s sun is very different than our own.
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Astronomers have discovered a new exoplanet in the habitable zone of Earth’s nearest neighboring solar system.
