Feature Astronomy

Year in review: A planet lurks around the star next door

Closest known exoplanet is ‘just’ 4.24 light-years away orbiting Proxima Centauri

proxima b

HEY NEIGHBOR Proxima b, depicted with its star in this illustration, is at least 1.3 times as massive as Earth — but that is just a minimum estimate.

L. Calçada, Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org)/ESO

By Christopher Crockett

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