See Why the Internet Is Prepared to Lose Its Mind Over Something Called ‘Proxima B’

J.D. DurkinAug 24th, 2016, 2:19 pm
 

Screen-Shot-2016-08-24-at-2.15.12-PM-650x379The one thing during our lifetimes that would truly cause mass hysteria would be the discovery of life outside of our world.

It’s the stuff of some of the greatest films ever made (See: Independence Day) and some of the worst films ever made (See: Independence Day: Resurgence), and today we may be one small step for man closer to making it a reality.

Enter Proxima B. No, it’s not the name of a new medicated face pledget or a hemorrhoid treatment. Proxima B is the newly-discovered planet that has been found orbiting the next closest star to our outside of our sun, Proxima Centauri. The planet — which is 1.3 times the mass of Earth — falls perfectly inside of the “inhabitable zone,” for sustaining life. It has, according to the Guardian, “sparked a flurry of excitement among astrophysicists,” for its potential, with strong indications that water could exist on its rocky terrain.

One of the co-authors of the research, Guillem Anglada-Escudé, said of the discovery, “There is a reasonable expectation that this planet might be able to host life, yes.”

Proxima B is the closest planet outside of our solar system, a discovery that is being made exactly ten years to the day since scientists decided to demote Pluto like it was a failing Donald Trump campaign manager. The newly discovered planet is 4.2 light years away.

Proxima B’s orbit takes 11.2 days (Earth days, that is) to make one rotation around Proxima Centauri. It’s tight orbit may seem as if it would be outside of any such habitable conditions, until you consider that the star is a red dwarf, making it a much cooler and smaller star than our own.

Social media is beginning to light up with the possibility that Proxima B is the new frontier in the search for life outside of our own.

Aliens, huh? Let’s kick the tires and light the fires, big daddy.

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