Opening in 2016, the planet Proxima b became a sensation. Earth-like object located at the nearest to the Solar system of the star Proxima Centauri is only 4.24 light years away from us, but still seems very promising candidate for the presence of life – well how here not to rejoice? Unfortunately, new observations of exoplanets ruin all our hopes on the potential of its habitability, not to mention our desire to ever send a spacecraft to research.
An artistic representation of the flare star Proxima Centauri, created on the basis of the obtained monitoring data luminary
After analyzing the data collected by a network of radio telescopes ALMA (Techniques large antenna array of millimeter range), scientists recently found that the star Proxima Centauri in March 2017, was thrown into space just for its huge size flash. If the planet Proxima b existed any form of life, the flash caught 10 times more powerful and brighter brightest and powerful flares on our Sun, it just burned.
“March 24, 2017 was not quite an ordinary day for the stars Proxima Centauri and Proxima planet b”, — reported in a press release from the National radio astronomy Observatory Meredith McGregor, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institute.
From the analyzed data science team McGregor found that for just 10 seconds, the brightness of the star Proxima Centauri has increased in this day of 1000. In this case, all the event as a whole (including the previous one at least bright flash) lasted less than two minutes. But this time, the planet Proxima b were subjected to radiation levels 4,000 times higher than the level of radiation, which is usually exposed to the Earth during solar flares.
For all living things that could be at the moment on the surface of the planet, this event likely was the last.
“It is very likely that all life, if any there were on the planet Proxima b, was destroyed under the influence of the enormous energy of the radiation resulting from this outbreak. Over the billions of years since its formation Proxima b could be subjected to outbursts similar to this. The power of the latest flash was so great that it would vaporize any atmosphere or ocean, effectively neutering the planet’s surface. This can also be concluded that not only the “correct” distance from the star to the planet must play a decisive role in determining the potential habitability of one or of the other world and to talk about having on the planet’s surface of liquid water,” added McGregor in a press release.
Currently in development are new telescopes that will allow us a more detailed look at the planet Proxima b, and also to find out whether it contains any life (which under the circumstances is unlikely). Even if it turns out that extrasolar planet is uninhabited, the new knowledge of it can help us find life on other planets, beyond Centauri system. For example, in the same TRAPPIST-1, several planets which, at least for now, looks promising.
Dwarf star like Proxima Centauri are one of the most common types of stars in our galaxy. And we have already managed to find near some of them quite interesting on the planet. But when you consider that this star is highly inclined to this kind of events as described shows a simple example of Proxima Centauri, the only chance for survival of any life forms on the planets located close to stars, will exist somewhere deep under the ground.
Any possible form of life on the planet Proxima b has just been destroyed
Nikolai Khizhnyak