Proxima b, where did it come from? | PALE RED DOT
https://palereddot.org/proxima-b-where-did-it-come-from/
The recent discovery of Proxima b has not only excited much of the public, but also scores of scientists who are attempting to explain its many different aspects.
At the time of writing, there are already 8 papers discussing a wide variety of topics concerning Proxima b: ranging from its potential habitability and the impact
of flares, to how to characterise the planet’s atmosphere with NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope. Whilst these pieces of work are important in looking at the
present state of the planet, (well the state of the planet 4.25 years ago) one important question from its past needs to be answered. How did it form and evolve into
the planet that is detected today? Knowing how and where it formed can give valuable insights into its composition and atmospheric properties, whilst understanding
its evolution can give hints at to what else, if anything, should be expected to be discovered orbiting Proxima Centauri. But before we examine the specific case
of Proxima b, it is useful to understand just what planets form from and how they do it in a very general case.
