Less than a month ago, scientists confirmed the existence of a rocky planet roughly 1.3 times the mass of Earth named “Proxima b.” Although it orbits its star, Proxima Centauri, at about 5 percent the distance that currently separates Earth and our sun, Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf that is much less hot and luminous than our star.
What’s exciting about this finding is that Proxima Centauri is only 4.2 light years away from us. As the lead author of the study, Guillem Anglada-Escudé, states, “It's not only the closest terrestrial planet found, it's probably the closest planet outside our solar system that will ever be found because there is no star closer to the solar system than this one.”
Furthermore, Proxima b falls within the “Goldilocks zone” around its star, meaning that it’s surface could contain water in the liquid phase. If it has an atmosphere, it’s surface temperatures could range between 86 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit, although scientists aren’t sure Proxima b has an atmosphere. There are also questions about whether is is “tidally locked” with its sun, and the effect of much stronger X-ray and ultraviolet flares that are estimated to be roughly 100 times those experienced on Earth.
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