New exoplanet - Proxima d
A third planet has been detected orbiting the closest star to our solar system, Proxima Centauri. It is estimated to be just 25% as massive as Earth, or around twice the mass of Mars, the planet – known as
Proxima d – is one of the lightest exoplanets ever found. Using the Very Large Telescope in Chile, the team looked at how the star wobbled under the gravitational pull from orbiting planets. This is what is known as the radial velocity method. From the star’s wobbles, the team deduced the highly likely presence of a third planet in the system. Orbiting its host star at 0.029 times the distance between Earth and the sun, Proxima d sits within Proxima Centauri’s habitable zone, the region around the star in which water can remain liquid.
Know More | Image Credit:
L. Calçada/ESO
