Weird Exoplanets
This is the text version of the interactive 3D documentary. 한국어
All exoplanets › Part 1: Close neighbors
Proxima b
The closest exoplanet — and its star keeps erupting
View in 3D · narrated- Distance
- 4.3 light-years (about 40 trillion km, 4.3 years at light speed)
- Type
- Rocky planet (likely)
- Size
- At least about 1.1 times Earth’s mass
- Star
- Proxima Centauri (a red dwarf)
- Year (orbit)
- About 11.2 days
- Temperature
- At a distance where water could be liquid
- Found
- 2016
Four years at the speed of light
Proxima b orbits Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our Solar System. It is about 4.2 light-years away. In the sky it lies toward the southern constellation Centaurus. Of all known exoplanets, it is the nearest to us.
View this scene in 3D →A star that keeps exploding
Proxima b is a little heavier than Earth and circles very close to its star, once every 11 days. The star is small and dim, so at this distance water might stay liquid. The problem is the star. It often bursts into sudden, huge brightenings called flares.
Why?In a flare seen in 2019, the star’s ultraviolet light became about 14,000 times brighter within a few seconds. If flares like that keep hitting the planet, they could slowly strip away any air around it.
Learn moreThe planet never passes in front of its star, so it was found in 2016 by measuring how much the star wobbles back and forth. We still don’t know if it has air or what its surface looks like. The surface on screen is imagined.
View this scene in 3D →Sources: Wikipedia: Proxima Centauri b
Distances and facts come from published research and NASA, as noted under each planet. The 3D close-ups are artist’s views based on that research, not photographs. Distances to faraway stars can carry some uncertainty.