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rfmcdonaldThe Dragon's Tales linked to a Spanish-language arXiv paper paper, written by Rodriguez et al., that speculates as to whether or not life, and habitable planets, could exist at Proxima Centauri.
This is very important. Not only is it quite relevant to us since Proxima, the distant red dwarf companion of Alpha Centauri's brighter A-B pair, is the nearest star to our Sun, but it's important in that Proxima--dim, prone to flares--can be taken as a prototype for red dwarfs across the galaxy.
We apply a mathematical model for photosynthesis to quantitatively assess the habitability of a hypothetical planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, inside the so called habitability zone. Results suggest significant viability for primary biological productivity, provided living organisms have evolved to reach the ability of using infrared light for photosynthesis.
This is very important. Not only is it quite relevant to us since Proxima, the distant red dwarf companion of Alpha Centauri's brighter A-B pair, is the nearest star to our Sun, but it's important in that Proxima--dim, prone to flares--can be taken as a prototype for red dwarfs across the galaxy.
