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Since its discovery two years ago, in 2016, questions have been raised about Proxima b, namely the state of the surface of the strange planet, considered to be similar to that of the Earth.
A recent study on the planet, which orbits in the habitable zone of a star 4.2 years later, suggests that Proxima B contains a large amount of liquid water.
It also suggests that, under good conditions, he could also support life.
The researchers carried out simulations of Proxima b with a dynamic ocean.
The results revealed that the planet is closely related to its star, Proxima Centauri, which means that it knows the day and the night.
While any water from the "night" of the planet would be frozen permanently, its "experience" tells another story.
The researchers said in the study: "Climate models with static oceans suggest that Proxima B could harbor a small ocean surface despite its low instability.
With an ocean in the night, the water that might be present on Proxima B suddenly becomes very important.
Anthony Del Genio, a global scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told LiveScience: "The major message of our simulations is that there is a good chance the planet is habitable."
Simulations of Proxima b have been revealed to show "a dynamic ocean, a hypothetical Proxima Centauri b with the modern Earth-like atmosphere can have a habitable climate with a wide open ocean area, going until the night to low latitudes ".
The planet is considered a neighbor of the Earth because of its proximity and it is also the closest planet Earth discovered to date.
Proxima orbits the star closest to the Earth and missions to send a spaceship to analyze it and find signs of life are being planned.
The planet is rocky and its size is comparable to that of the Earth.
Water, carbon dioxide and rock are necessary for the formation of biochemical cycles leading to life.
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