European astronomers have solid evidence for the existence of another planet orbiting the Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, just four light-years from Earth. The candidate exoplanet Proxima d – which remains to be confirmed by further observations – is the third most detected in the Nearest system and the one with the smallest mass, only a quarter of the Earth.
It is one of the lightest exoplanets ever found in our galaxy.
Proxima d orbits at a distance of about four million kilometers, less than a tenth of the distance of Mercury from the Sun. It only takes five days for a full tour (the length of the year) and it is expected to be hot and not hospitable for life because it is close to the Nearest.
The researchers, led by Joao Faria of the Portuguese Institute of Astrophysics, made the discovery with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile and subsequently published it in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. .
Two larger exoplanets have been discovered around the Near Centaur, Proxima b with an Earth-like mass, year of 11 days and conditions possibly hospitable for life, as well as Proxima c, at a much greater distance, which takes five years for a complete orbit, according to the Athens News Agency.
The existence of Proxima b has been confirmed in 2020, while Proxima c, which remains a candidate, has not yet been confirmed.
Source: News Beast
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