English explorer Robert Hues brought Alpha Centauri to the attention of European observers in his 1592 work Tractatus de Globis, along with Canopus and Achernar, noting: Now, therefore, there are but three Stars of the first magnitude that I could perceive in all those parts which are never seene here in England. "A catalog of Near Eastern Venus deities." [24][25], In 2016, the Working Group on Star Names of the IAU,[13] having decided to attribute proper names to individual component stars rather than to multiple systems,[26] approved the name Rigil Kentaurus (/radl kntrs/) as being restricted to Alpha Centauri A and the name Proxima Centauri (/prksm sntra/) for Alpha Centauri C.[27] On 10 August 2018, the IAU approved the name Toliman (/tlmn/) for Alpha Centauri B. Essentially because Mercury is closer to the Sun than Venus, Mercury spends more time in proximity to Earth; it could, therefore, be said that Mercury is the planet that is "closest to Earth when averaged over time". Observed stellar positions in 2019 are separated by 4.92 arcsec through the PA of 337.1, increasing to 5.49 arcsec through 345.3 in 2020. In 1980, the Einstein Observatory produced a detailed X-ray energy curve of a stellar flare on Proxima Centauri. [104], In 2016, a superflare was observed from Proxima Centauri, the strongest flare ever seen. The planet presents a much larger thin "crescent" in telescopic views as it passes along the near side between Earth and the Sun. It has sufficient mass to assume a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape. [67][68] Venus Express also discovered, in 2011, that an ozone layer exists high in the atmosphere of Venus. To the naked eye, the two main components appear to be a single star with an apparent magnitude of 0.27. Winds at the surface are slow, moving at a few kilometres per hour, but because of the high density of the atmosphere at the surface, they exert a significant amount of force against obstructions, and transport dust and small stones across the surface. According to these measurements, the lightning rate is at least half of that on Earth,[66] however other instruments have not detected lightning at all. [102] In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. ", "What Would It Be Like to Live on Venus? Our atmosphere has the perfect ingredient for us to breathe. [102][108] Despite these difficulties, given the similarities to the Sun in spectral types, star type, age and probable stability of the orbits, it has been suggested that this stellar system could hold one of the best possibilities for harbouring extraterrestrial life on a potential planet. If the Solar System were such a binary system, the outer limits of the resulting circumstellar habitable zone could extend as far as 2.4 AU. The ancient Greeks also initially believed Venus to be two separate stars: Phosphorus, the morning star, and Hesperus, the evening star. [48] The average individual stellar masses are about 1.08M and 0.91M, respectively,[5] though slightly different masses have also been quoted in recent years, such as 1.14M and 0.92M,[75] totalling 2.06M. Any exoplanet in this star's habitable zone would likely be tidally locked, resulting in a relatively weak planetary magnetic moment, leading to strong atmospheric erosion by coronal mass ejections from Proxima Centauri. This small planet rotates slowly on its axis but orbits quickly around the Sun. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes and is the nearest-known star to the Sun. [33], South of about 29 South latitude, Alpha Centauri is circumpolar and never sets below the horizon. This erosion process results in a steady loss of low-mass hydrogen, helium, and oxygen ions, whereas higher-mass molecules, such as carbon dioxide, are more likely to be retained. In 1975, the Soviet Venera 9 and 10 landers transmitted the first images from the surface of Venus, which were in black and white. If the planet had a strong magnetic field, the field would deflect the particles from the atmosphere; even the slow rotation of a tidally locked planet that spins once for every time it orbits its star would be enough to generate a magnetic field, as long as part of the planet's interior remained molten. In 2001, J. Garca-Snchez et al. [11] One Venusian year is about 1.92Venusian solar days. Instead, Venus may lose its internal heat in periodic major resurfacing events.[83]. It has a lot of impact craters, some of them with distinct rays. In June 2020, a large ring system encircling the planet was possibly detected. [233] The phosphine was detected at heights of at least 30 miles above the surface, and primarily at mid-latitudes with none detected at the poles. [89] The signal was later determined to be human-made radio interference. [19], Alpha Centauri C was discovered in 1915 by Robert T. A. Innes,[21] who suggested that it be named Proxima Centaurus,[22] from Latin'the nearest [star] of Centaurus'. Even from Alpha Centauri A or B, Proxima would only be seen as a fifth magnitude star. Viewed from Earth, the apparent orbit of A and B means that their separation and position angle (PA) are in continuous change throughout their projected orbit. [51] In 1718, Edmond Halley found that some stars had significantly moved from their ancient astrometric positions.[52]. Every star is surrounded by a thin band of habitability called the habitable zone. Earlier spellings of the name were written with the cuneiform sign si4 (= SU, meaning "to be red"), and the original meaning may have been "divine lady of the redness of heaven", in reference to the colour of the morning and evening sky. [25], Lower mass main-sequence stars have higher mean density than higher mass ones,[26] and Proxima Centauri is no exception: it has a mean density of 47.1103kg/m3 (47.1g/cm3), compared with the Sun's mean density of 1.411103kg/m3 (1.411g/cm3). The 'Goldilocks Zone,' or habitable zone, is the range of distance with the right temperatures for water to remain liquid. [26][31] This makes the Venusian surface hotter than Mercury's, which has a minimum surface temperature of 53K (220C; 364F) and maximum surface temperature of 700K (427C; 801F),[32][33] even though Venus is nearly twice Mercury's distance from the Sun and thus receives only 25% of Mercury's solar irradiance. Since Mars is farther from the Sun than us, it takes longer to complete one revolution. This would have increased the delivery of volatiles such as water to the dry inner regions, so possibly enriching any terrestrial planets in the system with this material. [15] The closest recent approach was in February 2016, at 4.0 arcsec through the PA of 300. Jupiter is the closest gas giant to the Sun and is thus the warmest planet in the outer solar system. Just like Mercury, it has no rings or moons. Mathematics and Physical Sciences", "William Crabtree's Venus transit observation", "Mikhail Lomonosov and the discovery of the atmosphere of Venus during the 1761 transit", "A Spectrographic Investigation of the Rotation Velocity of Venus", "United States-Soviet Space Cooperation during the Cold War", "Venus Express Out Of Gas; Mission Concludes, Spacecraft On Death Watch", "The Origin of the Male and Female Symbols of Biology", "Acidic clouds of Venus could harbour life", "Could microbes be affecting Venus' climate? [93] Post-processing techniques could push the limit down to 0.5 to 0.7 REarth. This tilt causes extreme seasons on this planet. The Sun would appear as a yellow star of apparent magnitude +0.48, roughly the same as the average brightness of Betelgeuse from Earth. They may be composed primarily of silicate rocks and/or metals. As such, Innes concluded that Proxima Centauri was the closest star to Earth yet discovered. [144] In the 17th century, Giovanni Cassini reported a moon orbiting Venus, which was named Neith and numerous sightings were reported over the following 200years, but most were determined to be stars in the vicinity. [188] These three features are now the only ones on Venus that do not have female names. [22] More than 85% of its radiated power is at infrared wavelengths. [158] Captain Cook's exploration of the east coast of Australia came after he had sailed to Tahiti in 1768 to observe a transit of Venus. Using current spacecraft technologies, crossing the distance between the Sun and Alpha Centauri would take several millennia, though the possibility of nuclear pulse propulsion or laser light sail technology, as considered in the Breakthrough Starshot program, could make the journey to Alpha Centauri in 20 years. Unlike the inner rocky planets, the temperature of the gas giants does not vary depending on your location from the equator. All except Magellan were gravity assists. The internal mixing of its fuel by convection through its core, and Proxima's relatively low energy-production rate, mean that it will be a main-sequence star for another four trillion years. Consequently, the Chinese name for Alpha Centauri itself is Nn Mn r, the Second Star of the Southern Gate. For more information about this latest discovery, visit: NASAs Kepler Mission Discovers Bigger, Older Cousin to Earth. Multiple observations every 36 months could push the limit down to 3 REarth. We live on the crust, the thinnest layer of the planet. This list is incomplete, currently containing 34 exoplanets, 11 of which probably lie inside their star's habitable zone. [125], To the Australian aboriginal Boorong people of northwestern Victoria, Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri are Bermbermgle,[126] two brothers noted for their courage and destructiveness, who speared and killed Tchingal "The Emu" (the Coalsack Nebula). Venus is the second closest planet to the Sun, and its the hottest planet in the solar system. "[70][71], In December 2015, and to a lesser extent in April and May 2016, researchers working on Japan's Akatsuki mission observed bow shapes in the atmosphere of Venus. The Committee on Space Research is a scientific organization established by the International Council for Science. Equipped with seven scientific instruments, Venus Express provided unprecedented long-term observation of Venus's atmosphere. The Earths crust is divided into different tectonic plates. This is a list of potentially habitable exoplanets.The list is mostly based on estimates of habitability by the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog (HEC), and data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive.The HEC is maintained by the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. XLI. where [116], The weak magnetosphere around Venus means that the solar wind is interacting directly with its outer atmosphere. [192] The joint Venera 4Mariner 5 data were analysed by a combined SovietAmerican science team in a series of colloquia over the following year,[193] in an early example of space cooperation. Venus has an extremely dense atmosphere composed of 96.5% carbon dioxide, 3.5% nitrogenboth exist as supercritical fluids at the planet's surfaceand traces of other gases including sulfur dioxide. On Venus, a global resurfacing event may have shut down plate tectonics and led to a reduced heat flux through the crust. [9] This is 162 times the surface gravity on Earth. These spots are thought to represent lava freshly released by volcanic eruptions. [16] Proximab orbits within Proxima Centauri's habitable zonethe range where temperatures are right for liquid water to exist on its surfacebut, because Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf and a flare star, the planet's habitability is highly uncertain. They are much more intense than the light shows we have on Earth. 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