“This is the nearest other planet outside our solar system that we’re ever going to find”. However, the exoplanet’s intimate position likely leaves it more vulnerable to solar flares, storms and other radiation events. The Proxima b is not only the closest terrestrial planet discovered but in all likeliness is the closest planet outside our solar system, that could be possibly found.
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For the first time, astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting our sun’s nearest neighbor. It is unknown if Proxima b has either.
This means it could potentially support life, raising the possibility of future colonisation by humans.
Astronomers have found clear evidence of a potentially habitable planet orbiting the closest star to our solar system. One consists of looking at regular drops in the level of brightness of the star, which may indicate that something in orbit is passing in front of it. SETI astronomer Jeff Coughlin told Popular Mechanics, “There’s nothing in physics that would keep us from sending a probe to Proxima B within the next few decades, even with just current-day technology”. The faint red star in the center of the red circle is Proxima Centauri.
All the same, the planet may still be hospitably wet, Meadows says, depending on how and where it formed billions of years ago and how its star behaved during the planet’s infancy.
The experience of living on Proxima b would be quite alien compared to Earth. It’s not clear yet whether the planet has an atmosphere or a magnetic field. Researchers believe that if Proxima b has an atmosphere, the surface temperature might be between 86 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. “If it has an atmosphere, cross our fingers, then an atmosphere could retain enough heat that little bitty planet around that little bitty star could have conditions favorable to life”. One can only imagine what life on the dark side might be like.
Proxima b is far from the first exoplanet to be discovered.
The analysis of the signal suggests that the planet could have a mass as low as 1.3 times the mass of the Earth.
As such the research has been years in the making, and was undertaken by more than 30 researchers from across different institutions and countries.
Co-author Dr John Barnes, from the Open University, said: “Once we had established that the wobble wasn’t caused by star spots, we knew that that there must be a planet orbiting within a zone where water could exist, which is really exciting”.
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“We don’t think it’s a show-stopper”, Amado said.
