Proxima b tagged posts

Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun, and its planet, Proxima Cen b (“Proxima b”), lies in its habitable zone (the distance range within which surface water can be liquid), making the planet a prime target for exoplanet characterization. The star is an M-dwarf with a mass of only 0...

Rocky, Earth-like planets orbiting our closest stars could host life, according to a new study that raises the excitement about exoplanets. When rocky, Earth-like planets were discovered orbiting in the habitable zone of some of our closest stars, excitement skyrocketed – until hopes for life were dashed by the high levels of radiation bombarding those worlds.

Proxima-b, only 4.24 light years away, receives 250 times more X-ray radiation than Earth and could experience deadly levels of ultraviolet radiation on its surface...

An artist’s impression of a flare from Proxima Centauri, modeled after the loops of glowing hot gas seen in the largest solar flares. An artist’s impression of the exoplanet Proxima b is shown in the foreground. Proxima b orbits its star 20 times closer than the Earth orbits the Sun. A flare 10 times larger than a major solar flare would blast Proxima b with 4,000 times more radiation than the Earth gets from our Sun’s flares. Credit: Roberto Molar Candanosa / Carnegie Institution for Science, NASA/SDO, NASA/JPL.

Flare illuminates lack of a dust ring; puts habitability of Proxima b in question. Astronomers have detected a massive stellar flare – an energetic explosion of radiation – from the closest star to our own Sun, Proxima Centauri, which occurred last March...

An artist’s impression of the surface of Proxima B. Image courtesy of ESO/M. Kornmesser

The quest to discover whether a planet orbiting our closest neighboring star, Proxima Centauri (4.2 light years or 25 trillion miles from Earth), has the potential to support life has taken a new, exhilarating twist. The planet was only discovered in August 2016, and is thought to be of similar size to Earth, creating the possibility that it could have an `Earth-like’ atmosphere. Scientists from the University of Exeter have embarked on their first, tentative steps to explore the potential climate of the exoplanet, known as Proxima B.

Early studies have suggested that the planet is in the habitable zone of its star Proxima Centauri...