Astronomers Believe <br />They Have Found , a Third Planet , Orbiting Proxima Centauri.<br />According to a new study, our solar system's nearest neighbor may be host to three planets. .<br />'Scientific American' reports that <br />astronomers believe they have detected <br />a third planet circling Proxima Centauri. .<br />The Proxima Centauri system <br />is centered around a red dwarf star <br />just 4.2 light-years away from Earth. .<br />If the findings are confirmed, the candidate world, known as Proxima d, would be one of the lightest known exoplanets, coming in at just 25% of Earth's mass. .<br />The discovery shows that our closest <br />stellar neighbor seems to be packed <br />with interesting new worlds, within reach <br />of further study and future exploration, João Faria, study lead author and researcher at the <br />Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço in Portugal, <br />via 'Scientific American'.<br />'Scientific American' reports that Proxima d was detected using ESPRESSO, an instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope in Chile.<br />ESPRESSO relies on the radial velocity technique, <br />the detection of slight wobbles in a star's motion that <br />suggest the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet. .<br />The team's findings were published on February 10 <br />in the journal 'Astronomy & Astrophysics.'.<br />This achievement is extremely important. <br />It shows that the radial velocity technique <br />has the potential to unveil a population <br />of light planets, like our own, <br />that are expected to be the most <br />abundant in our galaxy and that can <br />potentially host life as we know it, Pedro Figueira, ESPRESSO instrument scientist at ESO in Chile, via 'Scientific American'.<br />This result clearly shows <br />what ESPRESSO is capable of <br />and makes me wonder about what <br />it will be able to find in the future, Pedro Figueira, ESPRESSO instrument scientist at ESO in Chile, via 'Scientific American'
