Space just got a new frontier or our solar system just got a new neighbour.
Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory identified an Earth-like planet orbiting our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri.
Deemed an apropos Proxima b the planet carries a nickname fashioned after Carl Sagan. ‘Pale red dot’ as it is called could is suggestibly Earthlike.
Here are some interesting facts about this newly discovered planet.
1.
According to a NASA tally, there are 3,374 known exoplanets. Of those, 1,248 are so-called ice giants, 990 are gas giants, and 775 are ‘super Earths’ with masses many times higher than the rock we call home.
Of the total, only 347 planets are Earthlike in mass, and of those only a handful in a ‘habitable zone’ that would allow for the presence of liquid water -- a key ingredient for life as we know it
2.
Proxima b is the closest Earthlike exoplanet anyone has ever found, at just over four light-years away. For those of you keeping stock, that’s well over 39 thousand crore kilometres
3.
Based on current spacecraft technology, a probe launched now would take around 70,000 years to reach the new planet. So don’t wait up for those hi-res images for your desktop wallpapers, you freeloaders
4.
The planet is at least 30 per cent more massive than Earth. It's within Proxima Centauri's habitable zone, where temperatures are perfect for liquid water to exist. Think fishing, folks!
5.
The planet encircles around Proxima Centauri every 11.2 Earth days. That means longer work hours for all you workaholics
6.
Proxima b's daddy star, the Proxima Centauri, is part of an odd stellar trio. The other two stars, known as the Alpha Centauri, are binary, meaning that they orbit a common centre of gravity.
Astronomers aren't really sure whether Proxima Centauri is gravitationally bound to the other pair in some type of orbit, or if it's just passing by. Think of two elegant dancers and a third wheel just moving around them. Kinda like that
7.
Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf; a particularly volatile type of star and regularly blasts waves of ultraviolet radiation into space. Any life form that may have evolved on the planet would have to have some serious shielding to protect itself from regular showers of radiation. Don’t we all just love the microwave?
8.
The planet was spotted using Doppler measurements, the same technique used to identify the very first exoplanet in 1995. This kind of measurement tracks slight shifts in the colour of starlight coming from a distant star, which can be caused by a nearby planet's gravity tugging on its star. Push and pull; that’s the key