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In the two years since astronomers confirmed the existence of a planet similar to the Earth just outside the solar system, scientists have been trying to determine the livability of Proxima b.
Unfortunately, many studies have been discouraging, often indicating that the sun in the orbit experiences too much torch activity to maintain an atmosphere or liquid water on its surface.
New research conducted by NASA however suggests that Proxima b, which is a red dwarf orbit Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our galaxy, could have enough water to sustain life.
Do not be too excited to meet the intergalactic neighbors for the moment.
As stated in these previous studies, there is a lot of work against the alien's favor on Proxima b, which is only 1.3 times the mass of the Earth.
Although the planet is beautiful on paper, its history remains unclear: it probably had a blazing greenhouse effect (eventually eliminating all the oceans) and was bombarded by intense radiation (X-rays and extreme ultraviolet flux) and the wind solar.
It could also accommodate an entirely new category.
"Above all, we do not know if Prox b even has an atmosphere and if so, if it has water. Without them, life as we know it does not exist, "said Universe Today's co-author of the study, Anthony Del Genio, of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
"It might be [that] Prox bs "is formed initially without atmosphere, or with an atmosphere but in a stellar system poor in water," he continued. "Or it could have formed with a modest atmosphere and a lot of water. Or it could have formed with a very thick atmosphere. We do not know yet.
The research – led by Del Genio and colleagues at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Columbia University and Trinnovim LLC – was published in the journal. astrobiology.
There are many reasons to assume that no one lives on Proxima b, including the fact that M-stars like Proxima Centauri tend to be too small, cool, bright and active to maintain a livable climate.
But that's not a reason to give up hunting.
Using a bit of imagination and a lot of high-tech software, Del Genio & Co. conceptualized Proxima B as having an atmosphere and water, in order to understand how these factors can produce conditions habitable * on the surface.
* Defined as: hot enough to support liquid water, but not too hot to evaporate everything.
The team modeled a range of potential atmospheres, including Earth (dominated by nitrogen with small amounts of CO2) and Mars (pure CO2).
According to Universe Today, they also considered things as if its atmosphere would be thinner or thicker than ours, its oceans more or less salty, and if the sea covers the entire planet.
In any case where scientists could imagine, Proxima b had at least some surface water, which gave it a "good chance" of being habitable, Del Genio said.
"We also found that ocean currents carried warm water from day to night, keeping some parts of the night alive even if they never saw light," he added. "And if the ocean is very salty, almost the whole planet could be covered with liquid, but with temperatures below the usual freezing point almost everywhere."
NASA's planetary hunter, TESS (Exoplanet Survey Satellite in Transit), has begun to provide data on planets beyond our solar system.
The study of exoplanets has seen remarkable discoveries over the past decade, including a series of orbs that can accommodate a foreign life. But some people want even more. Read all about Outer Space here.
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