It’s Official: Scientists Have Found A Second Earth
A SECOND Earth in the Proxima Centauri System is real, according to researchers. The planet is thought to have oceans similar to those on Earth and may harbor extraterrestrial life.
Numerous exoplanets have been found throughout the universe in the past, but none of them compare to Proxima B.
Proxima b, as it has been named, has many “promising characteristics”: it is likely rocky, slightly more massive than our planet, and it is situated in the area around its star that would let liquid water to exist on its surface.
One of the nearest stars to Earth, the Proxima Centauri system, contains a planet that scientists believe may have liquid water and even extraterrestrial life.
The planet Proxima B is thought to be about 1.3 times as big as our own, and its surface has the perfect temperature for liquid water to exist.
Proxima B is four light years from Earth, or more than 25 TRILLION MILES, thus in order to visit the planet in the near future, scientists would need to develop incredibly quick spacecraft that could easily reach the Proxima Centauri system.
One of the finest possibilities for future human colonization could emerge if the planet turns out to be “a SECOND Earth.”
Between -90 and 30 degrees Celsius are possible for the planet’s surface temperature, according to researchers.
Researchers believe that Proxima B may be our best chance yet to discover DIRECT proof of the presence of alien lifeforms outside of our solar system.
It is quite conceivable that life as we know it exists on the planet that has already been dubbed “a second Earth” since it is situated at the perfect distance from its host star for liquid water to exist.
Proxima B is the nearest exoplanet we have yet found, and scientists believe that during our lifetimes, a voyage to the planet to look for indications of life may be feasible.
Although it would seem impossible, the distance between our planet and Proxima B is actually remarkably close compared to other potential places for life to exist. Therefore, Proxima B might end up becoming the starting point for upcoming interstellar exploration.
Located in the constellation Centaurus, Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf. The star itself is too feeble to be seen with the human eye, but researchers haven’t stopped looking at it lately.
Proxima Centauri was really routinely observed during the first half of this year with the HARPS spectrograph mounted on the 3.6-meter telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in La Silla (Chile) and watched in tandem with other instruments from all around the world.
According to Dr. Guillem Anglada-Escudé, the paper’s principal author, “Many exoplanets have been discovered and many more will be discovered, but looking for the nearest probable Earth-analogue and succeeding has been the experience of a lifetime for all of us.” This finding is the result of the stories and efforts of numerous people. The outcome also serves as a monument to each of them. The next step is to look for life on Proxima b.
There are already two studies that discuss and detail Proxima B’s possible habitability.
Future observations will enable additional analysis of Proxima b and the speculative existence of a thick atmosphere and a liquid water reservoir, for instance with the 39-m ESO E-ELT telescope now being built in Chile. It would be quite exciting if this were to prove to be the case because it would mean that the closest star to the Sun also has the closest livable (perhaps inhabited?) planet.