The closest neighbor to Earth might be a desolate, airless wasteland

Space · Published 23 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Proxima Centauri b sits in the habitable zone, yet it may lack the very atmosphere required for life. While its proximity to Earth makes it a prime research target, intense stellar radiation could be stripping its gases away, leaving a barren surface exposed to the void.

Discovered in 2016, Proxima Centauri b is a super-Earth orbiting our nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri. With a mass estimated between 1.055 and 1.07 Earths, the planet resides just 0.04848 AU from its host star. Because it orbits an M-type red dwarf, the planet is likely tidally locked, meaning one side faces the star in eternal day while the other remains in permanent night.

The term 'Earth-like' is often used as shorthand for such discoveries, but scientists warn this is misleading. While the planet's orbit falls within the habitable zone—the region where liquid water could theoretically pool—the environment is far from hospitable. Proxima Centauri is a violent red dwarf that produces extreme ultraviolet radiation hundreds of times greater than our Sun. A 2017 study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters used computer models to show that if Earth were placed in this orbit, its atmosphere would likely not survive.

The mechanism of destruction is atmospheric stripping. High-energy radiation ionizes gases, knocking electrons free. As these electrons escape the planet's gravity, they create a charge separation that pulls positively charged ions into space. This process is powerful enough to strip not just light hydrogen, but heavier elements like oxygen and nitrogen. Whether a strong magnetic field could protect Proxima b remains a critical, unanswered question in determining if it could truly support life.

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