Earth-Like Planet Around Proxima Centauri Discovered

[FourWheelDrift]

Universe Today said:

The hunt for exoplanets has been heating up in recent years. Since it began its mission in 2009, over four thousand exoplanet candidates have been discovered by the Kepler mission, several hundred of which have been confirmed to be “Earth-like” (i.e. terrestrial). And of these, some 216 planets have been shown to be both terrestrial and located within their parent star’s habitable zone (aka. “Goldilocks zone”).

But in what may prove to be the most exciting find to date, the German weekly Der Spiegel announced recently that astronomers have discovered an Earth-like planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, just 4.25 light-years away.

http://www.universetoday.com/130276/earth-like-pla...


Very interesting if all proven correct.

[FourWheelDrift]

Simpo Two said:

Damn, you've found Planet Simpo. I shall have to move...

It's the ideal destination for the B Ark.

[FourWheelDrift]

More information today and named (temporarily) Proxima B

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v536/n7617/fu...

http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/n...

[FourWheelDrift]

Vanguard21 said:

And just 4.2 LY away? That's only equivalent to 133,000 return trips to the Sun then.

Using something like Alcubierre Warp Drive technology?

http://sputniknews.com/us/20150425/1021360503.html...

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2015/04/nasa-...


It's only a then a short step between testing a warp drive and a Vulcan ship passing at the same time... oh no wait that was a film.

[FourWheelDrift]

Venus is just outside the inner edge of the habitable zone and is believed to have experienced a runaway greenhouse effect that boiled all it's water away long ago, Mars only enters the habitable zone at it's closest orbit to the sun.



Image from - http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~nowack/