Since its discovery in 2016, the exoplanet Proxima b has been one of our most promising candidates for extraterrestrial life. Recent news that a powerful solar flare blasted the planet with radiation in March 2017 may have dashed those hopes of habitability.
In 2016, when scientists confirmed the discovery of Proxima b, a potentially habitable, Earth-sized planet orbiting the star Proxima Centauri, it was cause for astrobiological celebration. Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to our solar system — just 4.24 light-years away — so, in the search for extraterrestrial life, we’d found a promising candidate in our cosmic backyard.
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