Yesterday , in arguably what is the most important exoplanet discovery ever made , scientists from the Pale Red Dot projectannounced they had founda potentially Earth - similar world on the snug wiz to our Sun , Proxima Centauri   –   a stone ’s throw out in astronomical footing .

The discovery of the satellite , name Proxima b , has understandably send the scientific world into raptures , with many notice on how this Earth is near enough to study in detail , and perhaps even visit .

But what do we know about this world so far , could there be life there , and can we in reality visit it ? allow ’s take a look at some of the giving questions about Proxima b.

Does it definitely be ?

No , but it ’s very likely . The planetwas foundby measuring wobbles in its parent star make by the planet ’s orbit , bed as Doppler spectroscopy . While the scientist behind the uncovering are almost sealed the major planet exists , there ’s a small chance it does n’t . count Alpha Centauri Bb , a declare oneself exoplanet around the nearby Alpha Centauri B mavin . This was afterwards recollect   to be amistaken discovery . However , this time around , the scientists say they have been more exhaustive . So , Proxima b in all likelihood exists .

Is it habitable ?

We do n’t live for indisputable yet . All we get it on about the planet so far is that it has at least 1.3 times the people of Earth ( and at most about 3 metre ) , it is probably rocky , and it orb its star at a aloofness 5 percentage that of the Earth - Sun space . Around a sensation like our own , such a domain would be uninhabitable .

But Proxima b ’s parent star is a much smaller adept , a red dwarf , which means it give out less light than our Sun , so a habitable planet   can exist closer in . Indeed , Proxima b is thought to be in the habitable zone of its star , where liquid water could exist . Such a wiz is prone to volley of hug drug - ray , though , which may complicate matters .

Could life sentence exist on the major planet ?

Well , that depends on a number of things . First , we call for to know what form of atmosphere it has , if it has one all . The planet takes about 11.2 Earth days to orbit its star , and at that distance , it is almost sure tidally locked . This means one of its sides always face its star , and is in unending hotness , while the other side points away with endless cold night . A thickheaded atmosphere , though , could transfer heat around the planet .

We also do n’t experience the planet ’s sizing , which would be a element in things . Red dwarf also let loose less Christ Within than our Sun , so there ’s less vim available for life . The crux of it is that if liveliness does exist there , it is likely to be microbial in nature , rather than anything openhanded like on Earth .

How can we read more about the planet ?

We ’re going to need big and adept telescope . Upcoming undertaking like the European Extremely Large Telescope ( E - ELT ) and the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) will potentially give us a better glance at the world , and possibly even allow for us to directly figure it .

Studying the planet in smashing detail , though , such as valuate its ambiance , will heavily bank on whether the planet transits its star from our point of perspective or not . We do n’t yet sleep with if the planet ’s range takes it in front of its maven relative to us . If it does , we can measure the asterisk ’s light coming through the atmosphere to work out the satellite ’s atmospheric composition , and even see tell - story sign of life history on the surface . If it does n’t transportation system , things will get a lot more difficult .

Can we ever go there ?

At 4.2 short - years aside , Proxima b is the closest exoplanet ever discover . This distance , though , is still 40 trillion kilometer ( 25 trillion mi ) by . Our uttermost spacecraft from Earth , Voyager 1 , has traveled a miserable 20 billion km ( 12 billion miles ) in about 40 year . So , by conventional means , it would be tough , taking tens   of thousands of years to get there .

But there is another path . Earlier this year , Russian billionaire Yuri Milner harbinger a project – in partnership with name calling such as Stephen Hawking – to send tiny spacecraft to the Alpha Centauri system , which contains Proxima Centauri . CalledBreakthrough Starshot , the project would impel thousands of probes with   large sails using   lasers fired from Earth , hit 20 percent the pep pill of light to make the journeying in 20 year .

Arecent studyhas suggested the probe might not survive the journey . But , if they could , it would give us a way to study Proxima b up close in decade , rather than many millennia .