Cosmological Planet

Cosmological Planet | Is it possible for us to go to neighboring star B?

Xu lai

20 17-09-22

The world is so big, wonderful things happen every day. Let's find it together!

Cosmological Planet | Is it possible for us to go to neighboring star B?

| Warm Dad Narrator |: Jin Beiping

Xu lai

On autumn nights, if you have a chance to go to the suburbs and look up at the starry sky, you will see many stars. In some places where the observation conditions are particularly good, even if there are city lights around, a faint galaxy can be seen across the sky.

I still remember when I first saw the Milky Way, I was really shocked. For dozens of minutes, I just held my head high and did nothing. I have a cold and a runny nose. I didn't even know. The Milky Way is really beautiful.

However, among these stars, apart from the planets and comets in the solar system, which one is closest to us?

What is proxima centauri?

Forget it, you must have never seen it. Because this star is too far south, it can't be seen in most parts of China. People in Shanghai, Wuhan and Chongqing can see it theoretically, but it can only appear slightly above the horizon and cannot be observed. More importantly, even if you go to Lingnan area or even go abroad to the southern hemisphere, you can easily observe the starry sky in the south, but you still can't see it with the naked eye, because it's too dark and you need a telescope to observe it.

If you are in the south and can see the stars in the south, first find the Southern Cross-this constellation is easy to identify, and the four stars are connected in pairs like a cross. Then, there are some bright stars around it, which is Centauri. Find one of the brightest stars, Alpha Centauri. In the ancient astronomical system of China, it was called South Gate, which means South Gate-indicating that it was the southernmost star that people could see at that time. Between Nanmener and Southern Cross, you can find a brighter star, which is Beta Centauri. There is a dark area between Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. The nearest star to the sun is hidden in this piece.

This star is called proxima centauri. Neighbors are neighbors. In the vast universe, it is a neighbor of the sun and, of course, our solar system.

Proxima centauri is particularly important, and astronomers all over the world pay special attention to it. The reason is that it is close to the sun. How close is it? It scares you to say it, 4.2 light years. You may not know this number. Let's put it another way. If you run around the earth at this speed, you will probably run 65.438+0 billion laps. It will take more than 10,000 years to go to proxima centauri with the fastest flying spaceship we have made.

Wait, it's so far, how can you say it's near? Yes, it is, because the universe we live in is really too big. There is such a star 4.2 light years away, which is enough to excite every astronomer.

What is proxima b?

However, if there were only proxima centauri, astronomers would not be so excited. What really interests everyone is other new discoveries: in 20 16, astronomers noticed that there was a planet in proxima centauri. This news makes everyone very excited, because human beings have seen countless stars, but there are few planets, which can't be compared with stars in quantity. You may have to ask again, which is not right. You see, there is one star in the solar system, the sun, but there are eight planets, and there are many dwarf planets and asteroids. There should be far more planets than stars.

Having said that, stars can shine, but planets can't. So people can only see distant stars, not distant planets. I told you before that astronomers can only speculate on the existence of planets by turning in front of the stars and blocking a little change in the light of the stars.

More importantly, proxima centauri not only has planets, but also is in a livable zone.

Remember the livable area I told you about? Livable zone refers to a range around a star, in which a planet is too far away to be too hot or too cold. Therefore, as long as there are planets in this range, there are probably rivers, lakes and oceans on this planet. As long as there are rivers, lakes and seas, there may be creatures on them-even like humans, who have mastered science and technology. Of course, it may also be a highly intelligent creature, and its technical level is more severe than ours.

Astronomers named proxima centauri proxima b.

The conjecture about proxima b

Of course, it's a little hasty for us to say that there are creatures on neighboring star B directly, because we still know very little about this planet. For example, astronomers know that the neighboring star B is bigger than the earth, but they don't know how big it is, just speculating on a range.

This is a key issue. If this planet is much larger than the earth, it may be a gaseous planet similar to Jupiter and Saturn in the solar system, then there is little possibility of life on it.

Secondly, although proxima b is in the "livable zone" of proxima centauri Centauri, it doesn't mean anything. Planets in the livable zone will not automatically become livable planets. For example, Mars is also in the livable zone of the solar system, but as far as we know, there are no Martians on Mars, and there may even be no traces of life at all. Therefore, it is not enough for a walking star to be only in the livable zone, but also to have a suitable atmosphere.

Therefore, scientists are still studying.

Finally, let me share another statement. Some astronomers have analyzed that this observation is likely to be wrong. Although they have observed the light disturbance in proxima centauri, it is also possible that it is not caused by planets, but by other reasons. If there is such an oolong incident, neighboring star B probably doesn't exist at all.

The naturalist's accomplishment record

Astronomers will actively explore the neighboring star B. If it really exists, it is estimated that within 10 years, we can see the photos of neighboring star B. At that time, we may be able to solve some mysteries about it.

You might as well imagine what you would do if one day humans could live in proxima centauri.

Recommended reading, one-click review:

Is there intelligent life outside the solar system?

Cosmos Satellite | Where is the largest fountain in the solar system?

Cosmos Satellite | Who is the most Earth-like star in the solar system?

Today we learned three knowledge points:

There is a star in Centauri, which is the closest star to the sun. It is called proxima centauri.

Astronomers found that there may be a planet in the livable zone of proxima centauri Centauri-Proxima B, because it exists in the livable zone, so there may be liquid water on it, and life may be derived from it;

We still know very little about proxima centauri, and scientists need to continue to explore whether it really exists.

Xu lai

Today, it's the164th day that natural history accompanies you. Congratulations, you have collected a new knowledge! We will continue our research in the next issue.