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[Historic] Earth may have a life sustaining cousin very, very close by

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DailyBiteAug 25, 2016 | 20:22

[Historic] Earth may have a life sustaining cousin very, very close by

An artist's impression shows the exoplanet Proxima b. Photo: Space.com

The search for life beyond Earth has led to some of the great missions in space exploration history. Scientists and astronomers have long tried to find the answer to our lonely existentialism on a global, scratch that, universal scale. But even after exponential advancements in space exploration, we are no closer to finding out if there are organisms beyond our little blue planet who live with some level of consciousness.

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This might have changed this week, as a new study confirmed the existence of a planet named Proxima b, which might have physical and atmospheric qualities to sustain some sort of life. Proxima b is a planet in the solar system of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Sun. It is the closest exoplanet to us in the universe, and it might just be habitable!

Research over the years has pegged Proxima Centauri to be a much smaller star than our Sun, which means it emits less heat and that planets closer to it are relatively more habitable than planets in the inner circle of our Solar System, that is Mercury and Venus.

Proxima b takes just 11.2 days to travel around Proxima Centauri, orbiting at just 5 per cent of the distance separating the Earth and the sun.

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This diagram illustrates the locations of the star systems closest to the sun. Photo: Penn State University

Researchers believe that liquid water could exist on Proxima b's surface, because it is within the habitable zone of its star, making it the closest possible home for life outside our solar system.

Proxima b is thought to be at least 1.3 times the mass of the Earth and is 4.2 light years away. Historically that is closest we have ever come to finding another planet that could host some kind of life, but by today's spacecrafts' standards, an interstellar probe launched today would take about 70,000 years to reach the newly discovered exoplanet.

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The planet Proxima b was discovered by scientists using a telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. The top panel in this image offers a view of the southern skies over the ESO 3.6-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. Photo: Space.com, Lower: NASA (Hubble telescope)

Is there anyway we can get to Proxima b faster?

In short, yes.

Project Breakthrough Starshot, started by physicist and venture capitalist, Yuri Milner, which has Stephen Hawking and Mark Zuckerburg on its board, is aiming to develop a light sail spacecraft called StarChip.

In concept, StarChip can make the 4.37 lightyear journey to Alpha Centauri star system (Proxima Centauri is one of the stars in this system) at speeds between 20 per cent and 15 per cent of the speed of light.

At that speed, StarChip can reach Alpha Centauri in about 20-30 years, which will include a flyby of Proxima b, getting us closest to answering the much vaunted, "Are we alone in the universe" question.

Last updated: September 22, 2017 | 22:46
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