Cold Dust Have Been Discovered Around Nearest Star

Dust around the closest star to the Solar System, Proxima Centauri has been detected by the ALMA Observatory in Chile. The new observations disclosed that the glow coming from the cold dust in a region is between one to four times as far from Proxima Centauri as the Earth is from the Sun.

The data hints at the existence of an even cooler outer dust belt. It may indicate the presence of an elaborate planetary system. These forms are similar to the much larger belts in the Solar System. It is also expected that these structures are made from particles of rock and ice that failed to form planets. Proxima Centauri is found to be one of the closest stars to the Sun. Proxima Centauri is a faint red dwarf that lays just four light – years away in the southern constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur).

The ALMA observations revealed emissions from clouds of cold cosmic dust that surrounds the star. The lead author of this study is Guillem Anglada from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), Granada, Spain.

Content: www.sciencedaily.com

By: Bhavna Sharma