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Anthony J Lombardi
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| Posted: 24 August 2016 at 8:10pm | IP Logged | 1
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Exciting news in the world of science
Exoplanet Proxima B
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
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| Posted: 24 August 2016 at 8:18pm | IP Logged | 2
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Exciting -- tho I think the press is running a bit ahead of the curve. An earth-sized world that orbits its primary every eleven days? One face most likely always toward the star? What kind of surface conditions would that create?I really don't like being the eternal wet blanket, but...
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Matt Clouser
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| Posted: 24 August 2016 at 8:44pm | IP Logged | 3
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... and on top of that, Proxima Centauri is a M-class "flare star", prone to occassional large "flares" - think of corronal mass ejections on steriods - that would irradiate the starward side of the planet.
Still, and all that, I am still in awe of the discovery of a planet with close to the Earth's mass (1.3x Earth) in the habitable zone of the star closest to us!
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James Woodcock
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| Posted: 25 August 2016 at 1:21am | IP Logged | 4
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Technically, does such a star actually have a habitable zone?
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Robbie Parry
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| Posted: 25 August 2016 at 4:41am | IP Logged | 5
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I don't know true this is, but on social media, someone said that there was a media embargo on reporting this for a while. Really?
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Matt Clouser
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| Posted: 25 August 2016 at 5:23am | IP Logged | 6
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James Woodcock wrote:
| Technically, does such a star actually have a habitable zone? |
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Technically, yes. Proxima B certainly has the deck stacked more against it than Earth does.
As JB pointed out above, it is most likely tidally locked (same hemisphere of the planet always facing the star) with it's star. So if it has an atmosphere, the weather patterns would be unlike any we have on Earth.
As I mentioned above, Proxima Centauri is a flare star. So if Proxima B has a thick atmosphere and a robust magnetic field it is POSSIBLE that it could support complex life.
How likely that is remains to be seen.
However, if you would have asked me last week what were the chances of an Earth-like planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, I would have said very low ...
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Matt Clouser
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| Posted: 25 August 2016 at 5:35am | IP Logged | 7
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Robbie Parry wrote:
| I don't know true this is, but on social media, someone said that there was a media embargo on reporting this for a while. Really? |
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That wouldn't surprise me.
As I understand the process, science reporters are stuck between the competing priorities of their business - to get the information out as soon as possible, while also needing to confirm discoveries with the scientists. As part of the scientific process, the scientists will submit their findings to established scientific journals (in this case, Nature if I recall right), and the journal schedules it's publication based on their priorities.
So as a matter of courtesy, when a big discovery - like Proxima B - is due for publication, scientists as a rule will respect a media hold on a story until actual publication.
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John Byrne
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| Posted: 25 August 2016 at 5:51am | IP Logged | 8
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However, if you would have asked me last week what were the chances of an Earth-like planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, I would have said very low ...•• I can't honestly see how this has changed. As various stories report, there is not yet even any certainty this world has an atmosphere, let alone what that atmosphere might be like if it exists. All the descriptions are of a world very, very different from Earth. It would be better to wait a while before we start calling this world "Earth-like." So far it's a big chunk of rock and nothing more.
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Robbie Parry
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| Posted: 25 August 2016 at 5:52am | IP Logged | 9
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Appreciate you explaining it, Matt. Had no idea what an embargo would have been about!
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Andrew Bitner
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| Posted: 25 August 2016 at 7:46am | IP Logged | 10
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NASA pointed out that Venus and Mars are also in the "habitable zone," but neither is habitable without lots of technological assistance (and I doubt any human could live on Venus).
It's an exciting discovery but nobody should make even long-term plans to relocate there--doesn't sound like it'd have any real chance of supporting human life, even with massive terraforming.
Edited by Andrew Bitner on 25 August 2016 at 7:46am
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John Byrne
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| Posted: 25 August 2016 at 7:51am | IP Logged | 11
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I suspect some degree of confusion comes from the press turning "terrestrial" into "Earth-like." Terrestrial just means rocky, as opposed to all those gas giants NASA keeps finding out there.Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are all terrestrial planets, but, as noted, only one of them is really habitable.
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John Byrne
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| Posted: 25 August 2016 at 7:56am | IP Logged | 12
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There's a little math game I like to play.The Universe, as we know, is full of galaxies. An infinite number of them. So making galaxies is what the Universe DOES. And each of those galaxies is composed of billions upon billions of stars. So making stars is what the Universe DOES. Studies of our own galaxy have shown that there are an average of 1.6 planets for every star, so making planets is what the Universe DOES. And studying our own Solar System, we find eight planets, of which half are terrestrial, so making terrestrial planets is probably also what the Universe DOES. And one quarter of our terrestrial planets have intelligent life.
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Topic Closed)
