. 24/7 Space News .
EXO WORLDS
ESPRESSO confirms the presence of an Earth around the nearest star
by Staff Writers
Geneva, Switzerland (SPX) May 29, 2020

This artist's impression shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System.

The existence of a planet the size of Earth around the closest star in the solar system, Proxima Centauri, has been confirmed by an international team of scientists including researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE). The results, which you can read all about in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, reveal that the planet in question, Proxima b, has a mass of 1.17 earth masses and is located in the habitable zone of its star, which it orbits in 11.2 days.

This breakthrough has been possible thanks to radial velocity measurements of unprecedented precision using ESPRESSO, the Swiss-manufactured spectrograph - the most accurate currently in operation - which is installed on the Very Large Telescope in Chile. Proxima b was first detected four years ago by means of an older spectrograph, HARPS - also developed by the Geneva-based team - which measured a low disturbance in the star's speed, suggesting the presence of a companion.

The ESPRESSO spectrograph has performed radial velocity measurements on the star Proxima Centauri, which is only 4.2 light-years from the Sun, with an accuracy of 30 centimetres a second (cm/s) or about three times more precise than that obtained with HARPS, the same type of instrument but from the previous generation.

"We were already very happy with the performance of HARPS, which has been responsible for discovering hundreds of exoplanets over the last 17 years", begins Francesco Pepe, a professor in the Astronomy Department in UNIGE's Faculty of Science and the man in charge of ESPRESSO. "We're really pleased that ESPRESSO can produce even better measurements, and it's gratifying and just reward for the teamwork lasting nearly 10 years."

Alejandro Suarez Mascareno, the article's main author, adds: "Confirming the existence of Proxima b was an important task, and it's one of the most interesting planets known in the solar neighbourhood."

The measurements performed by ESPRESSO have clarified that the minimum mass of Proxima b is 1.17 earth masses (the previous estimate was 1.3) and that it orbits around its star in only 11.2 days.

"ESPRESSO has made it possible to measure the mass of the planet with a precision of over one-tenth of the mass of Earth", says Michel Mayor, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2019, honorary professor in the Faculty of Science and the 'architect' of all ESPRESSO-type instruments. "It's completely unheard of."

And what about life in all this?
Although Proxima b is about 20 times closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun, it receives comparable energy, so that its surface temperature could mean that water (if there is any) is in liquid form in places and might, therefore, harbour life.

Having said that, although Proxima b is an ideal candidate for biomarker research, there is still a long way to go before we can suggest that life has been able to develop on its surface. In fact, the Proxima star is an active red dwarf that bombards its planet with X rays, receiving about 400 times more than the Earth.

"Is there an atmosphere that protects the planet from these deadly rays?" asks Christophe Lovis, a researcher in UNIGE's Astronomy Department and responsible for ESPRESSO's scientific performance and data processing. "And if this atmosphere exists, does it contain the chemical elements that promote the development of life (oxygen, for example)? How long have these favourable conditions existed? We're going to tackle all these questions, especially with the help of future instruments like the RISTRETTO spectrometer, which we're going to build specially to detect the light emitted by Proxima b, and HIRES, which will be installed on the future ELT 39 m giant telescope that the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is building in Chile."

Surprise: Is There a Second Planet?
In the meantime, the precision of the measurements made by ESPRESSO could result in another surprise. The team has found evidence of a second signal in the data, without being able to establish the definitive cause behind it. "If the signal was planetary in origin, this potential other planet accompanying Proxima b would have a mass less than one third of the mass of the Earth. It would then be the smallest planet ever measured using the radial velocity method", adds Professor Pepe.

It should be noted that ESPRESSO, which became operational in 2017, is in its infancy and these initial results are already opening up undreamt of opportunities. The road has been travelled at breakneck pace since the first extrasolar planet was discovered by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, both from UNIGE's Astronomy Department. In 1995, the 51Peg b gas giant planet was detected using the ELODIE spectrograph with an accuracy of 10 meters per second (m/s). Today ESPRESSO, with its 30 cm/s (and soon 10 after the latest adjustments) will perhaps make it possible to explore worlds that remind us of the Earth.


Related Links
University of Geneva
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


EXO WORLDS
In Planet Formation, It's Location, Location, Location
Baltimore MD (SPX) May 29, 2020
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are finding that planets have a tough time forming in the rough-and-tumble central region of the massive, crowded star cluster Westerlund 2. Located 20,000 light-years away, Westerlund 2 is a unique laboratory to study stellar evolutionary processes because it's relatively nearby, quite young, and contains a large stellar population. A three-year Hubble study of stars in Westerlund 2 revealed that the precursors to planet-forming disks encircling sta ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

EXO WORLDS
Doug Liman to direct Tom Cruise film shot in space

ISS welcomes first SpaceX Crew Dragon with NASA astronauts

NASA Networks support 1st commercial launch of NASA astronauts from US

No SpaceX T-shirts for tourists at Cape Canaveral

EXO WORLDS
SpaceX astronaut launch: here's the rocket science it must get right

US astronauts enter space station in milestone mission

SpaceX rocket lifts off on historic private crewed flight

Russia plans rocket tests, lunar programme resumption

EXO WORLDS
Martian moon orbit hints at ancient ring

Perseverance Mars Rover's extraordinary sample-gathering system

MAVEN maps electric currents around Mars that are fundamental to atmospheric loss

The detective aboard NASA's Perseverance Rover

EXO WORLDS
China space program targets July launch for Mars mission

More details of China's space station unveiled

China's tracking ship Yuanwang-5 back from rocket monitoring mission

China's Kuaizhou rocket industrial park partially operational

EXO WORLDS
Harwell Space Cluster launches 10-year strategy to become UK Gateway to Space

New UK-based space team launches to boost sector and economy

Study explores space's impact on our daily lives

Strings of pearls in the night sky - the Starlink satellite project

EXO WORLDS
New Observatory Will Track Near-Earth Satellites and Space Debris

CSIRO uncovers innovative approach to gold exploration

Kyoto scientists announce a 'nuclear' periodic table

Controlling artificial cilia with magnetic fields and light

EXO WORLDS
Unusual molecular and isotopic content of planetary nebulae

In Planet Formation, It's Location, Location, Location

Astronomers predict bombardment from asteroids and comets in another planetary system

Distance from Brightest Stars Is Key to Preserving Primordial Discs

EXO WORLDS
SOFIA finds clues hidden in Pluto's haze

New evidence of watery plumes on Jupiter's moon Europa

Telescopes and spacecraft join forces to probe deep into Jupiter's atmosphere

Newly reprocessed images of Europa show 'chaos terrain' in crisp detail









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.