Introduction
Our universe is an amazing collection of interstellar objects from black holes to cosmic pillars of life each of its discoveries wouldn’t go without surprising us. Our universe is a flat disk of space-time warped by quantum scales objects to supermassive black holes and galaxies. It is an infinite amount of knowledge and us, human beings are trying to explore the vastness of the universe and trying to decode the hidden mysteries behind it. Due to the advancements in technology and the development of very large telescopes with the spectrometer and infrared eyes, we are now able to identify those hidden objects in the universe. We have studied our solar system, discovered near and far galaxies imaged blackholes and cosmic gases, visualized star, and planet formation, and found many exoplanets in our exoplanet hunt. One such exoplanet hunt leads to the discovery of a new planet around the star Proxima Centauri which is located at a distance of 4.25 light-years from our solar system. This remarkable discovery led scientists to discover a hypothesized habitable planet.
Proxima B
The newly discovered planet around our nearest star system is named Proxima B. it was first indirectly observed in 2016 using HARPS Spectrometer mounted on the very large telescope of ESO. This planet is now experimentally discovered by using ESPRESSO Spectrometer mounted on VLT. ESPRESSO is far more accurate than the previous HARPS and has a precision of 30 cm/s. according to the calculations made by the scientists, Proxima B has a mass of 1.17 earth masses, and its 20 times closer to its host star than our earth to the sun. this planet is situated in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri and with this observation, we can assume that Proxima B is a terrestrial planet with a rocky surface.
Can Proxima B host life?
Proxima B is discovered by ESPRESSO using the radial velocity method. This method uses the velocity data of the star in it’s to and fro motion. In other words, we calculate the wobble movement of the star and if there is any planetary presence, the gravitational force exerted by the planet on the star can cause a change in the radial velocity of the star. Proxima Centauri is an M- type red dwarf star located at 4.25 light-years away from the solar system. Our newly discovered planet is in the habitable zone of the star. So, we can assume that the planet is terrestrial and the water present (if any) will be in liquid form due to the extreme temperature of the star. It could also contain an atmosphere but it is yet to be discovered.
Future Discoveries
With the development of extremely large telescope (ELT), GREAT MAGELLAN TELESCOPE (GMT) with the precision rate of less than 10 cm per second, we can have direct imaging of the planet Proxima B. we can also take an outlook of the planets atmosphere and the elements present in it and can see if there are any elements sustaining life. Also, scientists have got another signal from the Proxima Centauri Star system indicating that a second planet with 1/3 size of the earth is hiding behind the star. Scientists are planning to launch wafer crafts or nano space crafts with laser-powered propulsion to the Proxima Centauri to directly observe Proxima B and its atmosphere and also the hidden planet that we can name now as Proxima C.
Conclusion
Discovery of exoplanets in our nearby star system can give us an outlook of colonization and harboring life on exoplanets. We can also get to know about the formation of planets from its cosmic dust through these observations.
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