Exoplanet · Earth-sized rocky planet
Proxima Cen b
Proxima Cen b is a Earth-sized rocky planet orbiting the star Proxima Centauri. Its year lasts 11.2 Earth days. It was discovered in 2016 by the Radial Velocity method.
| Host star | Proxima Centauri |
|---|---|
| Distance | 4.24 light-years (1.30 pc) |
| Orbital period | 11.2 days |
| Orbital radius | 0.0485 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.000 |
| Radius | 1.02 R⊕ · 0.091 R♃ |
| Mass (minimum) | 1.06 M⊕ · 0.00332 M♃ |
| Density | 5.46 g/cm³ |
| Equilibrium temperature | 218 K (-55 °C) |
| Stellar flux received | 0.641 × Earth |
| Discovery method | Radial Velocity |
| Discovery year | 2016 |
| Discovered by | European Southern Observatory |
Habitable zone
Inside its star's habitable zone: it receives enough light for liquid water to exist on its surface under a suitable atmosphere.
Its star in the sky
In the planet's sky its star is a disc 1.5° across: 2.9 times the Sun as we see it from Earth.
In the sky
A telescope is needed to see it: its apparent magnitude is 11.01. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 27° N. South of latitude 27° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in April, the best time to observe it.
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 2022. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 75 thousand years.
Planets in the same system
- Proxima Cen d 5.12-day orbit · 0.692 R⊕
Data: NASA Exoplanet Archive, PSCompPars. Its look in the simulation is a rendering based on the measured radius, mass and temperature.