{"id":21135,"date":"2022-02-26T10:22:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T15:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=21135"},"modified":"2022-08-19T10:33:38","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T14:33:38","slug":"third-exoplanet-found-around-closest-star-to-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=21135","title":{"rendered":"Third exoplanet found around closest star to Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From Astronomy Magazine: https:\/\/astronomy.com\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Third exoplanet found around closest star to Earth<\/h4>\n
The planetary family around Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth, just keeps growing.
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By Alison Klesman<\/a> \u00a0|\u00a0 Published: Monday, February 21, 2022<\/div>\n
RELATED TOPICS: EXOPLANETS<\/a><\/div>\n
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\"Artist's<\/a>
An artist’s impression shows the small world Proxima d – a new planet recently discovered around the Sun’s nearest neighbor. ESO\/L. Cal\u00e7ada<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A little over four light-years away is Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to the Sun. And in August 2016, researchers announced they\u2019d found a long-searched-for planet around Proxima Centauri, the smallest \u2014 and closest \u2014 component of this three-star system. Then, in January 2020, astronomers spotted a second world around Proxima Centauri. And now, the star\u2019s family tree appears to be growing again: A third terrestrial planet has been found orbiting the nearest star to Earth.<\/p>\n

A new addition<\/h2>\n

In a study published Feb. 10 in Astronomy & Astrophysics<\/em><\/a>, astronomers announced the discovery of Proxima d. This tiny planet, weighing in at just one-quarter the mass of Earth, orbits Proxima Centauri every five days at a distance of some 2.5 million miles (4 million kilometers), or less than one-tenth the distance of Mercury from our own Sun. But because Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf with only about 12 percent the Sun\u2019s mass and 14 percent its diameter, this puts Proxima d in the star\u2019s habitable zone, where conditions are just right for liquid water to potentially exist on its surface.<\/p>\n

Click here to\u00a0 READ MORE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n