Closest ever exoplanet is potentially habitable

Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, has a rocky, Earth-sized planet located in the star's habitable zone, where liquid water can exist on the surface. This major discovery was made by an international team of researchers including Julien Morin from the Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier (CNRS/Université de Montpellier), and is published on 25 August 2016 in Nature . At the same time, two other teams of astrophysicists and planetary scientists, mostly from France, have carried out an in-depth study of the exoplanet's environment. Although the radiation from its star may have initially stripped away some of the planet's gas, an atmosphere and water may still be present. Under certain conditions, which remain hypothetical, the planet may even harbor liquid water on its surface and have an environment potentially favorable to life. Their findings can be accessed online. By definition, this is the closest exoplanet to Earth ever discovered: Proxima b orbits around Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun, a mere 4.2 light years away.