Opportunities and Obstacles for Life on Proxima b | PALE RED DOT
https://palereddot.org/opportunities-and-obstacles-for-life-on-proxima-b/
The discovery of Proxima b is the biggest exoplanet discovery since the discovery of exoplanets. The planet is not much bigger than Earth
and resides in the “habitable zone” of the Sun’s nearest stellar neighbor. This planet may represent humanity’s best chance to search for
life among the stars. But is Proxima b habitable? Is it inhabited? These questions are impossible to answer at this time because we know
so little about the planet. However, we can extrapolate from the worlds of our Solar System, as well as employ theoretical models of
galactic, stellar, and planetary evolution, to piece together realistic scenarios for Proxima b’s history. The possibilities are varied and
depend on phenomena usually studied by scientists in fields that are considered distinct, but an integrated perspective — an astrobiological
perspective — can provide a realistic assessment of the possibility that life could have arisen and survived on the closest exoplanet.
