Post by Andrei Tchentchik on May 3, 2020 16:52:45 GMT 2
(.#451).- There would be another planet around Proxima Centauri.
There would be another planet around Proxima Centauri.
By: Brice Louvet, science editor
January 17, 2020, 10 h 56 min
Artistic illustration / Credits: ESO / M. Kornmesser
A second planet could evolve around Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun. However, additional studies will be necessary to confirm or not its presence.
Found just 4.2 light years away and first observed in 1915, Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun. A little over three years ago, a team of astronomers from the European Southern Observatory announced the discovery of a planet orbiting this star named after Proxima Centauri b.
We have since learned that this world evolves in the habitable zone of its system. Studies are currently underway to find out if this planet could harbor an atmosphere and oceans. Furthermore, if we were to send one or more probes evolving at relativistic speeds (we are not there yet), it is around this planet that they would be deployed.
A second planet in orbit?
However, it is not Proxima b that interests us today. Recently, researchers from the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics said there could be a second planet around the star. They nicknamed this world “Proxima c” while awaiting confirmation. Details of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.
At the moment, little can be said about this potential world. According to initial analyzes, it could be a super-earth. In other words, a planet bigger than Earth, but less big than Neptune. It would also be too far from its star to support liquid water on the surface. Proxima c (if it exists) is therefore probably not habitable.
Crédits Wikimedia Commons
Additional studies to confirm
Researchers say they spotted the planet using the “radial speed” method. Here is the principle: by analyzing the spectrum of the stars, we can notice if some of them are moving away or slightly approaching the Earth. If this is the case, these regular movements are generally caused by the presence of one or more planets which exert a gravitational influence on their host.
To return to this study, the researchers therefore explain having identified this type of behavior in Proxima Centauri. They also determined that they were not related to the movements of Proxima b. This is why they suggest the presence of a second planet.
To confirm these suspicions, astronomers plan to analyze the data collected by the Gaia telescope which should be available this summer. Another instrument, the James Webb Space Telescope, could also help confirm or not the discovery. Its launch is scheduled for 2021. However, it's a safe bet that the telescope won't dwell on it too much. Proxima b remains a much more promising target.
F I N .
There would be another planet around Proxima Centauri.
By: Brice Louvet, science editor
January 17, 2020, 10 h 56 min
Artistic illustration / Credits: ESO / M. Kornmesser
A second planet could evolve around Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun. However, additional studies will be necessary to confirm or not its presence.
Found just 4.2 light years away and first observed in 1915, Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun. A little over three years ago, a team of astronomers from the European Southern Observatory announced the discovery of a planet orbiting this star named after Proxima Centauri b.
We have since learned that this world evolves in the habitable zone of its system. Studies are currently underway to find out if this planet could harbor an atmosphere and oceans. Furthermore, if we were to send one or more probes evolving at relativistic speeds (we are not there yet), it is around this planet that they would be deployed.
A second planet in orbit?
However, it is not Proxima b that interests us today. Recently, researchers from the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics said there could be a second planet around the star. They nicknamed this world “Proxima c” while awaiting confirmation. Details of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.
At the moment, little can be said about this potential world. According to initial analyzes, it could be a super-earth. In other words, a planet bigger than Earth, but less big than Neptune. It would also be too far from its star to support liquid water on the surface. Proxima c (if it exists) is therefore probably not habitable.
Crédits Wikimedia Commons
Additional studies to confirm
Researchers say they spotted the planet using the “radial speed” method. Here is the principle: by analyzing the spectrum of the stars, we can notice if some of them are moving away or slightly approaching the Earth. If this is the case, these regular movements are generally caused by the presence of one or more planets which exert a gravitational influence on their host.
To return to this study, the researchers therefore explain having identified this type of behavior in Proxima Centauri. They also determined that they were not related to the movements of Proxima b. This is why they suggest the presence of a second planet.
To confirm these suspicions, astronomers plan to analyze the data collected by the Gaia telescope which should be available this summer. Another instrument, the James Webb Space Telescope, could also help confirm or not the discovery. Its launch is scheduled for 2021. However, it's a safe bet that the telescope won't dwell on it too much. Proxima b remains a much more promising target.
F I N .
