Using state-of-the-art astronomical tools, an international team of researchers has confirmed the existence of Proxima b, an Earth-like exoplanet, orbiting the nearest star to the Solar System of we.

Confirming the existence of Proxima b is an important task for astronomers and it is one of the most interesting planets known in the neighborhood of the Solar System, Alejandro Suarez Mascareño, home to The top scientist said.

Scientists found that Proxima b is 1.17 times more massive than Earth, 1.3 times smaller than estimated. It orbits its star in just 11.2 days.

Proxima b was first discovered in 2016 using HARPS (High-speed planet search engine), a planet-hunting spectrometer attached to one of the telescopes at the Observatory. South European literature in Chile.

The scientists were able to identify more on the planet with ESPRESSO, a new generation spectrometer also at the observatory in Chile, which is three times more accurate than HARPS.

"We are very pleased with the performance of HARPS, who has been responsible for discovering hundreds of exoplanets over the past 17 years," said Francesco Pepe, professor of astronomy at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, leader of ESPRESSO. emphasize.

Although Proxima b orbits its host star at such a close distance, it still receives the same amount of energy from it as the Earth and the Sun. That makes astronomers excited about the potential to find alien life.