Good News In History, August 24

Good News In History, August 24
Good News In History, August 24 9 years ago today, the European Southern Observatory confirmed the existence of Proxima Centauri b, the closest exoplanet to Earth orbiting within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri. It’s just over the hedge at 4.2 light years from Earth, and its discovery has led to numerous research activities attempting to establish whether it would harbor conditions for life.  READ more about this 10th rock from the Sun…  (2016) An artist’s impression of Proxima Centauri – credit, ESO H. Kornmesser CC 4.0. Proxima Centauri is a flare star with intense emission of electromagnetic radiation that could strip an atmosphere off the planet, which is just about the size of Earth, give or take a little mass 4 columns behind the decimal point. Proxima Centauri b could range from being a Mercury-like planet with a large core—which would require particular conditions early in the planet’s history—to a very water-rich planet. It likely developed under different…