The closest habitable planet to Earth

Astronomers in Germany have discovered a habitable planet that may have liquid water on its surface, orbiting its parent star 4.5 light years from the Sun.

A planet suitable for life orbits the dwarf star Proxima Centauri very close to Earth. Photo: Pixabay.

Since its launch in 2009, NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has discovered more than 4,000 exoplanets. Of these, 216 are Earth-like planets in the Goldilocks Zone, the region around a star where liquid water can exist. However, these planets are thousands of light-years away and completely out of reach for humans, according to News.com.au.

Using a reflecting telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Germany, astronomers discovered a planetfit for lifeorbits Proxima Centauri, a small red dwarf star only about 4.5 light years from the Sun. It is the closest habitable planet to Earth, meaning humans could travel to it.

"The unnamed planet is very similar to Earth and orbits Proxima Centauri at a distance close enough for liquid water to flow on its surface, an important factor for the formation of life. Scientists have never discovered a second Earth so close," German newspaper Der Spiegel quoted a source from the ESO.

Previously, astronomers at the ESO observatory claimed to have found the closest exoplanet to Earth in 2012, although subsequent analysis showed that the result was unreliable. ESO sources stressed that the latest discovery was authentic and the result of in-depth research. ESO is expected to officially announce the new discovery at the end of August.

According to VNE