Saturday, 19 March 2022 – 12:09 WIB
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VIVA – In a new study scientists predict what it will look like Earth in systems close to the Solar System. In search of evidence of life elsewhere in the universe, they are constantly looking for planets similar to Earth.
Earth’s closest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri, has an exoplanet that scientists say is potentially Earth-like named Proxima b. It is an exoplanet located in the habitable zone or Goldilocks zone around its star.
This means that the celestial body is orbiting its star at a distance close enough that liquid water could potentially exist. In a new study, a team of scientists from ETH University Zurich, Switzerland estimated what a rocky planet in the habitable zone of Alpha Centauri might look like.
Scientists modeled the planet using real spectroscopic data about the chemical composition of two of the three star systems, Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B.
These two stars are similar to the Sun and orbit each other. While the third Proxima Centauriare smaller, fainter red dwarfs orbiting a pair of larger stars.
Because all three are so close to our solar system, astronomers have studied this system and its stars extensively.
So far no planets have been identified around Alpha Centauri A or B, but scientists have identified three candidate planets around Proxima Centauri, sparking much debate about whether or not the world is habitable.
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