Habitable planet found in solar system next door

August 24, 2016 23:21

Scientists today announced the discovery of an Earth-sized planet orbiting the star nearest our Sun, opening up the glittering prospect of a habitable

world that may one day be explored by robots.

Named Proxima b, the planet is in a "temperate" zone compatible with the presence of liquid water -- a key ingredient for life.

The findings, based on data collected over 16 years, were reported in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.

"We have finally succeeded in showing that a small-mass planet, most likely rocky, is orbiting the star closest to our solar system," said co-author Julien Morin, an astrophysicist at the University of Montpellier in southern France.

"Proxima b would probably be the first exoplanet visited by a probe made by humans," he told AFP.

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