They were not written rubbish from beach for sensationalism.
The rumors appeared in the media a few days ago about (Der Spiegel had to break the news) the likely existence of an Earth-like planet in the Proxima Centauri system, the closest star to us (only 4.23 years light), are ESO confirmed today during a meeting with the press.
The first comment came from Italian Isabella Pagano, astronomer of the Observatory of Catania INAF (INAF).
"And 'the planet outside closer to us ever discovered solar system, is truly a milestone for mankind ,. It is a truly unique event -he continued- because it was finally proved that the closest star to us is a planet in the zone where liquid water could exist and where the temperature could be ideal for the existence of life forms ».
THE FEATURES OF THE PLANET
Rumors and speculation were for days on the Net, the first to break the news was Der Spiegel, a few days ago and was referring to the study, which lasted 16 years, the European Southern Observatory telescope (ESO) in Chile. From the first news it seems that Proxima b, or the discovered planet has a mass similar to that of Earth, 1.5 times higher, "what I do know is that it's a small planet in the so-called 'habitable zone, which is the distance' right from the star to have liquid water. But it is still also true -he commented the astronomer of the Observatory of Catania-which Proxima
Centauri is an active star with solar flares of energy loads. For this we are not able to say if indeed the planet is habitable. " The discovery will be published this evening, Wednesday, Aug. 24, in the journal Nature by the astronomers group coordinated by Queen Mary University of London.