Scientists confirm existence of Proxima B; could there be signs of life on this planet?

The universe is a vast place full of mystery, for years, researchers have been trying to figure different planets, solar systems and most importantly, if there is life other than that on our planet. So as the search for life continues, scientists have confirmed that Proxima B is definitely present at the Proxima Centauri.

New Earth Proxima b could be our big hope

Proxima Centauri is the closest star to our solar system’s sun. Reportedly, Proxima b sits 4.2 light-years away from the sun and has a mass 1.17 times the mass of the Earth. The planet orbits star Proxima Centauri in eleven days. The planet was first discovered in the year 2016 using the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher spectrograph, which is based in Chile.

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More information regarding the same has come through using the Swiss manufactured ESPRESSO spectrograph. Researchers have told a media portal that the Proxima b is about 20 times closer to its star Proxima Centauri compared to the distance between Earth and the Sun. However, the amount of energy that the Proxima b and Earth receive from their respective stars are akin.

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Due to this reason, it is believed that the surface temperature of the Earth and Proxima b would also be similar. This further could mean that there is the hope of water being present on the Proxima b, which further implies that there could be life on the planet. Francesco Pepe, a professor in the Astronomy Department in UNIGE's Faculty of Science and leader of ESPRESSO spoke to a media portal on the matter.

He told the portal that they were already pleased with the performance of HARPS which discovered hundreds of exoplanets over the last 17 years. He further added that they have been happy that ESPRESSO could produce even better measurements. Francesco Pepe further said it is gratifying and just rewarding for the teamwork lasting nearly 10 years.

Image Credits: spaceclub Instagram

However, there is some potentially bad news regarding the possibility of life on Proxima b. Scientists have said that the Proxima Centauri tends to radiate X-rays towards planets near it, and the rays are 400 times more than what the sun sends towards the Earth. Therefore, a lot depends on the atmosphere around Proxima b and whether it is able to shield the surface from these rays.

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Image Credits: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Instagram