Just a hop, skip, and a jump from us in cosmic terms, the nearest alien planet to our solar system, Proxima b, is a mere 17% larger in mass than Earth (pictured in the above artist's impression). The new findings come courtesy of a spectrographic device, known as ESPRESSO, mounted at ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile.
First discovered four years ago, the exoplanet has been measured to be in the habitable zone of its star, Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf, that is dimmer and smaller than our sun. Yet, Proxima b is about 20 times closer to its star than Earth is to the sun, so it could receive comparable energy. Scientists are pondering whether the alien world might harbor liquid water, and possible life. But because the planet is heavily bombarded by X rays from its sun, it would need a protective atmosphere to shield it.
"It's one of the most interesting planets known in the solar neighbourhood," remarked Alejandro Suarez Mascareño, the lead author of the new study. Does Proxima b have a sibling? Intriguingly, ESPRESSO has found hints of a smaller world, about one third the mass of Earth. More at Space.com.