Proxima Cen (GJ 551; dM5.5e) is one of only about a dozen fully convective stars known to have a stellar cycle, and the only one to have long-term X-ray monitoring.
Proxima Centauri
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Proxima Centauri, Status Report
Earth-like Exoplanets In Spin-orbit Resonances: Climate Dynamics, 3D Atmospheric Chemistry, and Observational Signatures
Terrestrial exoplanets around M- and K-type stars are important targets for atmospheric characterisation. Such planets are likely tidally locked with the order of spin-orbit resonances (SORs) depending on eccentricity. We […]
Posted inAlpha Centauri, Astrogeology, Beta Pictoris, Ceres, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Pluto, Proxima Centauri, Saturn, Status Report, tau Ceti, TRAPPIST-1, Uranus, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Classifications For Exoplanet and Exoplanetary Systems
When a star is described as a spectral class G2V, we know its approximate mass, temperature, age, and size. At more than 5,700 exoplanets discovered, it is a natural developmental […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Proxima Centauri, Status Report
RISTRETTO: A VLT XAO Design To Reach Proxima Cen b In The Visible
RISTRETTO is the evolution of the original idea of coupling the VLT instruments SPHERE and ESPRESSO lovis_2016a, aiming at High Dispersion Coronagraphy. RISTRETTO is a visitor instrument that should enable […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Proxima Centauri, Status Report
Detectability Simulations of a NIR Surface Biosignature on Proxima Centauri b with Future Space Observatories
Telescope missions are currently being designed which will make direct imaging of habitable exoplanets possible in the near future, and studies are needed to quantify the detectability of biosignature features […]
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Proxima Centauri, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Time Evolution Of The Ultraviolet Habitable Zone
For stars hosting Circumstellar Habitable Zone (CHZ) exoplanets, we investigate the time-evolution of their ultraviolet habitable zone (UHZ), the annular region around a star where an exoplanet could experience a […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Proxima Centauri, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1
STScI Initiates A Concerted Search For Atmospheres Around M-dwarf Exoplanets
The STScI Director, Dr. Jennifer Lotz, has accepted the primary recommendation of the Working Group on Strategic Exoplanet Initiatives , and has decided to proceed with a large-scale survey of […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Proxima Centauri, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1
Lethal Surface Ozone Concentrations Are Possible On Habitable Zone Exoplanets
Ozone (O3) is important for the survival of life on Earth because it shields the surface from ionising ultraviolet (UV) radiation. However, the existence of O3 in Earth’s atmosphere is […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Proxima Centauri, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
MHD Simulations of the Space Weather in Proxima b: Habitability Conditions and Radio Emission
The habitability of exoplanets hosted by M-dwarf stars dramatically depends on their space weather. We present 3D magneto-hydrodynamic simulations to characterise the magneto-plasma environment and thus the habitability of the […]
Posted inCommercial & Private Sector, Cubesats and smallsats, Interstellar, Missions & Hardware, Proxima Centauri, Status Report
Swarming Proxima Centauri: Coherent Picospacecraft Swarms Over Interstellar Distances
Tiny gram-scale interstellar probes pushed by laser light are likely to be the only technology capable of reaching another star this century. We presuppose availability by mid-century of a laser […]