News Archive / Tagged: Proxima b

• Stellar radiation may preclude Earth-like atmosphere on Proxima b

  Laurel KornfeldAugust 3rd, 2017

  The exoplanet closest to the Solar System, Proxima b, is located in its star's habitable zone but may be unable to support life because radiation from its host star is likely to strip away its atmosphere, according to a new study based on a computer simulation.

• How to slow down an interstellar spacecraft at Alpha Centauri

  Tomasz NowakowskiMarch 25th, 2017

  While one of the most important challenges for future interstellar travel is how to send a probe to other stellar systems relatively fast, another issue that needs to be resolved is how to successfully slow down such a spacecraft once it gets there.

• The Genesis Project: Sending interstellar probes to seed life on exoplanets

  Tomasz NowakowskiOctober 11th, 2016

  German physicist Claudius Gros envisions an interstellar mission that could send microbial life to extrasolar planets that are not permanently uninhabitable. The proposed “Genesis Project” aims to send a fleet of robotic spacecraft equipped with onboard gene laboratories in order to bring life to distant planets with transient habitability.

• Proxima b may have ocean that could sustain life

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 10th, 2016

  Proxima Centauri b (Proxima b), the exoplanet closest to the Solar System, may be covered by an ocean of liquid water capable of sustaining life.

• Proxima b could be life-friendly, says co-discoverer

  Tomasz NowakowskiSeptember 5th, 2016

  In late August, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) broke the news announcing the discovery of Proxima b, the closest exoplanet to Earth, fueling hopes of finding an Earth-like planet that could support life. Now, Mikko Tuomi of the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, and co-discoverer of Proxima b, suggests the newly found alien world could be one of the best currently-known extra-solar places to search for microbial organisms.

• Earth-size planet discovered around nearest stellar neighbor

  Bart LeahyAugust 27th, 2016

  An international team of scientists working with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile has published a paper in the journal Nature reporting a rocky planet approximately 1.3 times the size of Earth has been detected orbiting Proxima Centauri, a small red dwarf star 4.25 light-years from Earth.