Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Alpha Centauri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alpha Centauri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

 "The system also contains at least one Earth-sized planet, with about 113% of Earth's mass,[11] which orbits Alpha Centauri B with a period of 3.236 days,[12] making it the closest exoplanet to Earth discovered so far. Orbiting at a distance of 6 million kilometers from the star,[11] or 4% of the distance of the Earth to the Sun, the planet has an estimated surface temperature of 1200 deg. Celsius, too hot to be habitable. However, it opens up the possibility that more planets may be orbiting the star, at least one of which may be within the habitable zone.[13]"

"Confirmed planets
On 16 October 2012, researchers announced an Earth-mass planet was detected in orbit around Alpha Centauri B [76][77]. The planet is not in the habitable zone, orbiting very close to the host star at just 0.04 AU and completing one orbit every 3.236 days."

"Alpha Centauri is envisioned as the first target for unmanned interstellar exploration. Crossing the huge distance between the Sun and Alpha Centauri using current spacecraft technologies would take several millennia,[citation needed] though the possibility of Solar sail, or Nuclear Pulse Fusion technology may cut this down to a matter of decades.[83]"

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