Seven years ago, my group launched the Pale Red Dot observing campaign whose purpose was very simple: to confirm the existence of #Proximab, the nearest candidate habitable #exoplanet.

Evidence for its existence had been found three years earlier by myself, but such extraordinary discoveriy require stronger support than most scientific results.

And it gained support, as of today, from as many as three different telescopes and instruments.

#astronomy #ProximaCentauri
https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann16002/

https://youtu.be/pmIWzTJYHMI #astronomy #ProximaB

For an easier way to potentially get ~6 km resolution images of #Proximab than lightsails pushed by non-existent lasers that would use most of the United States power grid's load:

Launch a spacecraft in the opposite direction.

https://twitter.com/michael_w_busch/status/1545278744897650689

Stellar and substellar companions from Gaia EDR3.

According to this new paper, #Gaia #astrometry sensitivity would be just enough to independently verify the existence of Proxima c.

Although the existence is in serious doubt, Gaia could help resolve the situation by providing a clear detection or by ruling out the existence of the planet.

#astronomy #exoplanets #Proximab

Paper by Kervella et al (2022): https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.10912

The nearest known #exoplanet to Earth, the planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, experiences some pretty nasty space weather from its parent #star.

Proxima b receives about 1000 times more high-energy radiation than the Earth does.

This would make it extremely difficult for the planet to host an atmosphere, let alone surface liquid water.

#Proximab #astronomy #astrobiology
https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.15697

The cursed ratio…

RT @ExocastExoCup@twitter.com

🚨 #ExoCup2022 FINAL! 🚨
Which #exoplanet will be crowned 👑 the champion of 2022 & take the trophy🏆?

#WASP39b a low density giant w/ a jam packed atmosphere of molecules
OR
#Proximab our coolest nearest neighbour

We are gonna need some science with these ones so get sharing!

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/ExocastExoCup/status/1599766121002856448

#Proximab CLAIMS it's all cool and Earth-sized, BUT it's not prepared to transit in front of its star and prove it!

And frankly, if you're not prepared to put in the effort to communicate, you don't deserve the prize 😤

RT @ExocastExoCup@twitter.com

🚨 #ExoCup2022 FINAL! 🚨
Which #exoplanet will be crowned 👑 the champion of 2022 & take the trophy🏆?

#WASP39b a low density giant w/ a jam packed atmosphere of molecules
OR
#Proximab our coolest nearest neighbour

We are gonna need some science with these ones so get sharing!

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/ExocastExoCup/status/1599766121002856448

RT @ExocastExoCup@twitter.com

🚨 #ExoCup2022 FINAL! 🚨
Which #exoplanet will be crowned 👑 the champion of 2022 & take the trophy🏆?

#WASP39b a low density giant w/ a jam packed atmosphere of molecules
OR
#Proximab our coolest nearest neighbour

We are gonna need some science with these ones so get sharing!

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/ExocastExoCup/status/1599766121002856448

🪐 Bin gerade dabei, meinen fiktiven Zielplaneten, der sich hinter dem Pseudonym #Ola verbirgt, in der Realität genauer zu studieren: Die Auswahl traf auf #ProximaB. Er umkreist die Sonne #ProximaCentauri und gilt als Planet der habitablen (also potentiell bewohnbaren) Zone. Trotz alledem: Da werde ich noch ein wenig schrauben müssen, um ihn für meine Zivilisation wirklich bewohnbar zu machen.
🌀 https://www.mpg.de/10696754/proxima-centauri-planet

"First, we need rock, and #Proximab indeed is a #planet that certainly has a rocky surface."

"Second, water has to be present. We have no evidence of this, but water can be found everywhere in space and there are no reasons why it would not exist on the surface of Proxima b."

"Third, there needs to be carbon dioxide, but that is simply a common primitive atmospheric molecule on all the Earth-sized planets in the solar system."

All these remain true, after six years of intensive #science.

What I said six years ago about the new #planet #Proximab I could say again today.

"Everything we know about Proxima b suggests that, although it is different, it shares similar features with the Earth such that it could be a life-friendly planet."

There are many questions and unknowns, the planet could experience deadly stellar eruptions, but it is still the nearest candidate #habitable world.

And this is why we are still studying it today.

#astronomy #exoplanets https://phys.org/news/2016-09-proxima-life-friendly-planet-co-discoverers.amp

Time for a proper introduction.

I am a professional astronomer at Helsinki University, Finland, studying exoplanets and active stellar surfaces.

I have discovered dozens of planets around nearby stars, most notably #Proximab around the nearest star to the Sun.

I do statistical modelling and data analysis, numerical simulations, and lots of other things.

Trying to understand the universe the best I can.

#introduction #astronomy #astrophysics #exoplanets