Scientists have found evidence for the existence of planets around the nearest star to our solar system, Proxima Centauri. It is therefore our nearest extrasolar planet.
Proxima b orbits its star every 11 days. The temperature on the planet is appropriate that appeared on the water in a liquid state. Proxima Centauri is 4 light-years from the solar system. This red dwarf star is closest to Earth soon after the sun.
“The first indications of a possible planet come from 2013, but detection was not convincing. Since then we have worked hard to get more observations of the Earth’s surface using the ESO and other institutions. Latest campaign Pale Red Dot has been planned for about two years “- says the head of the team of astronomers, Guillem Anglada-Escudé, quoted by the website of the European Southern Observatory.
What the astronomers noticed? First of all, that Proxima Centauri closer to the Earth at a speed of about five km / h and then moves away from it. It takes 11.2 days. With further calculations show that a planet orbiting the star has a mass of 1.3 Earth and is located a short distance from its sun, because only 7 million kilometers. For comparison, the planet is divided into the Sun distance of 150 million kilometers.
The proximity of Proxima b in relation to Proxima Centauri is smaller than Mercury to the Sun – like ESO. Star itself, however, it is much weaker than ours, so the planet can govern the conditions for the emergence of life, and the temperature allows for the presence of liquid water. A potential problem may be for bursts of ultraviolet and X-rays.
Realizing that Proxima Centauri, as an active red dwarf, can in their activities resemble planet monitor the precise changes in the brightness of stars.
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