Scientists expect to know if there is life on new planet in next few years
EVIDENCE of alien life on a newly discovered planet orbiting the closest star to Earth could emerge within a few years, scientists believe.
New telescope technology holds out the hope of spotting oxygen generated by vegetation growing on Proxima b’s surface.
Clear signs of life there would be one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time.
The planet orbits Proxima Centauri, a faint red dwarf star just 4.27 light years from Earth.
It is part of a triple system of stars which also includes the much brighter pair Alpha Centauri A and B. From Earth, the system appears as a single bright star – the third brightest visible in the night sky.
Astronomers led by a Brit- ish team from Queen Mary, University of London, announced the discovery of Proxima b last week in the journal Nature.
The planet is thought to be about 1.3 times more massive than Earth and probably rocky. It lies within its star’s “habitable zone” where temperatures are just right to allow the existence of liquid surface water, raising the possibility of life.
If the planet formed further out from its star before migrating to its present close position just 7.5 million kilometres away (4.6 million miles), it could have deep global oceans.
Astronomers, geophysicists, climatologists and biologists are now working together to ponder the possibility of life on Proxima b.
Leading University of Washington astronomer Dr Rory Barnes wrote in a blog dedicated to the new planet: “The short answer is, it’s complicated. Our observations are few, and what we do know allows for a dizzying array of possibilities.”
The biggest obstacle to life on Proxima b is the fact that it is 25 times closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun.