It must be emphasized here that the parent star of Proxima b, Proxima Centauri, is the closest star to us right after the Sun.
This means that the distance to it is small against the background, that if we as humanity start to travel to space, then we will go on our first trip outside the solar system in the direction of this star and its planets. Proxima b is about 4 light years (40
trillion kilometers) from us and is similar to Earth in that it is a stone planet and is so far away from its star Proxima Centauri that liquid water can be present on its surface, and therefore it is in the so-called
home area.
Not only that, the latest research shows that there may be more planets in the system. The astronomical world is making plans to send space probes to these objects, thanks to which we will be able to better study them and find out if intelligent life forms may exist there.
For now, we know that this exoplanet is slightly larger and has a mass 1.3 times that of Earth.
Meanwhile, the length of the orbit is about 11 Earth days.
It is worth noting that one side of the planet is constantly illuminated, and the other is plunged in darkness. Scientists have carefully checked the orbit of the exoplanet, the effect of the star on the elongation and flattening of its orbit, as well as measured the star's brightness from different angles and conducted experiments assuming various possible conditions on the surface.
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Two areas have been identified with far greater possibilities for water to exist than originally thought, and now we learn that, according to the latest research by scientists from the University of Exeter and the UK's Met Office, the climate at Proxima b is conducive to a flourishing life
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In their research, the specialists used the Unified Model, i.e. a global weather forecast model that is prepared for the entire planet and climate research over the decades.
The collected data was used to prepare an advanced simulation of the Proxima b climate. Scientists relied on the composition of the atmosphere similar to the Earth's, but also prepared a more rarefied model, namely containing lower concentrations of nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
The simulation results surprised the meteorologists very positively.
Everything indicates that there may be conditions for the emergence of life there, and the climate on this fascinating object is very stable, but the problem may be the star itself, which is a red dwarf, which means that it can bombard its planets with large amounts of radiation
x-ray, which can sterilize the surface of any microorganisms.
After all, astrobiologists believe that unknown to us intelligent life forms may have adapted to such extreme conditions or simply exist beneath the surface where they built cities.
There is also an option that the planet has a powerful magnetic field that fully protects it from radiation, of course, this good news does not mean that it is, but it nevertheless gives us the incentive to carry out even more detailed research, because it may be similar to us
life forms may be closer to us than we previously thought.