Proxima Centauri b is the closest planet outside our own solar system. So it\u2019s natural to wonder whether it might support life. As with many other exoplanets, the answer is maybe. It has some big plusses, but perhaps some even bigger minuses.
\nThe planet orbits Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our own \u2013 a bit more than four light-years away. It\u2019s so faint, though, that it\u2019s not visible without a telescope.
\nProxima b is one of three possible planets orbiting the star. But it\u2019s the only one in the \u201chabitable zone\u201d \u2013 the region around the star that\u2019s thought to be comfortable for life. And the planet is about the same size and mass as Earth. Those are the plusses.
\nThe minuses have to do with the star \u2014 a red dwarf. It\u2019s much smaller, cooler, and less massive than the Sun. And most of the time, it produces much less than one percent as much energy as the Sun does.
\nSometimes, though, Proxima flares up. It produces explosions of energy and particles that are a thousand times stronger than anything yet seen from the Sun. Proxima b is only about four-and-a-half million miles from the star \u2013 just five percent of the distance from Earth to the Sun. So the flares blast the planet with X-rays and charged particles. That could erode the planet\u2019s atmosphere \u2013 if it has one \u2013 and zap any life on the surface.
\nSo the odds seem to be against finding life on this nearby neighbor \u2013 at least for now.
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Script by Damond Benningfield
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