This is a fascinating discovery:
By galactic terms, the planet of Proxima b is just next door to we here in the Solar System, given that it orbits Proxima Centauri, which is one of the closest stars to the Sun. Until now, the extrasolar planets that have been discovered were tens if not hundreds or thousands of lightyears away. While using current technology it would still take thousands of years to arrive there, Proxima b is slightly over 4 lightyears from Earth.
How rocky they think it is, I doubt it's really got much life on there at all. I bet there is some alien planet looking at us and being like "that red planet is great for life" and it's Mars they're looking at. Mars is a planet in the habitual zone.
ReplyDeletePerhaps but I still think it's a cool discovery; means there are Earth-sized planets nearby.
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