The discovery of a planet in the Goldilocks Zone next door to our solar system is reported in an article published in the journal Nature on August 24, 2016. The planet is known as Proxima b, and is reported to be orbiting to its star, known as Proxima Centauri, next door neighbor of our own Sun. Proxima b is about 4.22 light-years from our earth. The planet is 4.6 million miles from its dwarf star, Proxima Centauri, or just one-twentieth of the distance between our earth and Sun. Proxima b orbits its star in 11 days, and since it does not rotate like earth, one side of it is always dark and the other side is always bright. The planet is constantly bombarded by X rays and ultra-violet rays. That does not eliminate the possibility of life deep underneath. This is the first planetary jackpot closest to our solar system.
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