Astronomers are on the verge of announcing the discovery of a new, Earth-like planet whose orbit could place it in its star’s habitable zone, according to Seeker.
The story was originally posted in the German news outlet Der Spiegel on Friday. It reportedly cites anonymous sources who identify the star as Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf which has been targeted by astronomers because it is the closest known analog to the Earth’s sun.
In fact, the European Southern Observatory, launched a months-long project called the Pale Red Dot Initiative in early 2016 to observe the star and any identifiable exoplanets. While it is unknown if this initiative helped to identify the new planet, Der Spiegel did report that the ESO would be making an announcement about its find in late August. The ESO, meanwhile, has declined to comment on the story.
Planets in the habitable zone are believed to have a good chance of containing life-sustaining liquid water because they are neither too hot nor too cold.
