OUR NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOUR
Proxima Centauri c DISCOVERED: 2020 DETECTION METHOD:
RADIAL VELOCITY
The Sun’s nearest cosmic neighbour is the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, a mere 4.25 light years away. There was a flurry of excitement in 2016 when a planet was found orbiting this star. It was a particularly significant discovery because the planet appears to be similar in size to Earth and is located in the star’s habitable zone – meaning that it might potentially harbour life. In 2020, astronomers announced the likely discovery of a second planet in the same system. But this one, dubbed Proxima Centauri c, is less likely to be habitable, orbiting so far out that it receives very little of the star’s warmth.