An Earth-like planet around the nearest star to the Sun – Wired.it
It has mass similar to that of Earth. And its temperature makes that, at least theoretically, could accommodate water in the liquid state. The identikit of discovered rocky planet around the nearest star to the Sun
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The exoplanet closer
the illustration shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b, orbiting the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the solar system. Also visible is the double star Alpha Centauri AB, in the upper right compared to the same Proxima. The planet is slightly more massive Proxima b Earth and orbit in the habitable zone around Proxima Centauri, where the temperature makes possible the presence of liquid water on the surface (Credits: Exo / M. Kornmesser)
The exoplanet closer
the image is a mosaic composed of a view of the sky above the telescope ESO 3.5-meter La Silla Observatory, in Chile, and images of the stars Proxima Centauri (the lower right corner ) and the double star Alpha Centauri AB (bottom left) taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of NASA and ESA. Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the solar system and will orbit the planet Proxima b, discovered using the Harps instrument of the ESO telescope (Credits: Lco / Ex / Esa / Nasa / M. Zamani)
The exoplanet closer
the infographic shows a comparison of the planet orbiting Proxima Centauri (Proxima b) and a region of the same size in the solar system. Proxima Centauri is smaller and cooler than the Sun, and the planet’s orbit is much closer to the star than Mercury. As a result, the planet is within the so-called habitable zone, where it is theoretically possible to find liquid water on the surface (Credits: ESO / M. Kornmesser / G. Coleman)
The exoplanet closer
the illustration shows the planet Proxima b orbiting red dwarf Proxima Centauri, the closest to our solar system. Also visible is the double star Alpha Centuari AB, between the planet and Proxima Centauri (Credits: ESO / M. Kornmesser)
the exoplanet closer
the image of the sky around the star Alpha Centauri AB double exhibition also the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, much less bright. The image was made by assembling photographs taken during the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The mission blue halo around Alpha Centauri AB is an artifact due to the image processing process: the star, in reality, it is pale yellow, like the Sun (Credits: Digitized Sky Survey 2; Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin / Mahdi Zamani)
Among all exoplanets so far discovered, here’s one really noteworthy. And not just because its mass it is extremely similar to that of the Earth (1.3 times that of our planet, to be precise), or because its temperature makes it potential candidate to host liquid water on the surface. The big news is that it is extremely close: Proxima b is the name of the rocky planet , in fact orbit around Proxima Centauri , the star more close to our Sun , about four years light from the solar system. To give the news, on the pages of Nature , the team of Guillem Anglada-Escudé , which put together the measurements collected by two telescopes the European Southern Observatory (Ex) between 2000 and 2014 and other observations collected between January and March 2016.
scientists, in particular, studied so-called Doppler measurements , useful to calculate small shifts of a star due to the gravitational force of any planets that orbit.
According to the observations of researchers, close to Proxima Centauri would be a hot planet from mass similar to Earth’s, whose orbital period would be just over eleven days. The planet, to be precise, disterebbe about 7,5 million kilometers from the star – just right for a comparison, let us remember that the Earth is from the Sun approximately 150 million kilometers . The orbital period, yet scientists say, makes Proxima b is in the so-called temperate zone , which causes the planet could, at least theoretically, host liquid water on its surface.
in fact, we know still not enough : the potential habitability of rocky planet has been debated, and will need more observations of its atmosphere to remove the doubts about. It has to consider also that the proximity to the star means that the planet is most likely targeted by X-ray flows much stronger than those who arrive on Earth from the sun. It was not immediately known whether Proxima b is equipped of a magnetic field able to shield it from such radiation, as is the case for our planet. “In the next few centuries, mankind would certainly try to explore the planet of robots with” says Artie Hazas in a piece that accompanies the scientific article. “Proxima Centauri will live hundreds or thousands of times more than our sun. So, any life forms on the planet [or ours, if we decide to move there, nda] could evolve long after the shutdown of the Sun “.
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