Tomorrow, we might finally get some concrete details on one of the most tantalising astronomy rumours in recent memory - the possible discovery of a habitable planet orbiting our Sun's nearest neighbour, Proxima Centauri.
Just to give you an idea of how cool it’d be if confirmed, right now, the closest known, potentially habitable exoplanet is Wolf 1061c, and it’s 14 light-years away. That’s 126 trillion kilometres from Earth. Meanwhile, this rumoured planet is just 4.25 light-years away.
That relative proximity is what’s gotten everyone so excited. The rumoured planet isn’t off in the far-flung reaches of the Universe that we’ll never see, it’s located in Alpha Centauri - the closest star system to our own Solar System.
The Alpha Centauri star system is located 4.4 light-years away from our Sun in the constellation of Centauru. Discovered back in 1915, it’s believed to consist of three stars: Alpha Centauri A; Alpha Centauri B; and Proxima Centauri, a small red dwarf, low-mass star.
This star system is so close - relatively - you can actually see Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B in the night sky. In fact, Alpha Centauri A is the fourth-brightest star seen from Earth.
Proxima Centauri is the closest star to our Sun, at about 4.25 light-years away. It's too small for us to see when we’re star-gazing, but it might be hiding the best secret of all.
It’s believed that a new 'mystery planet' is orbiting Proxima Centauri, and not only does it appear to have a rocky surface, it’s the right distance from its star to sustain liquid water - two key factors for a potentially habitable planet.
To be clear, we only know about this potential discovery thanks to what appears to be leaked reports from anonymous researchers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the only news outlet that purports to know much of anything about this is German weekly magazine, Der Spiegel.
"The still nameless planet is believed to be Earth-like and orbits at a distance to Proxima Centauri that could allow it to have liquid water on its surface - an important requirement for the emergence of life," the magazine reported on August 12. "Never before have scientists discovered a second Earth that is so close by."
For more news on this please read at science alert