Proxima Centauri b Climate Model Scenarios

Earth spins on its axis every 24 hours. Proxima B is tidally locked and therefore always faces it's star, much like how the moon has one side that always faces Earth. Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours. Proxima B is likely to be tidally locked, and therefore does not have a day/night cycle like earth. Instead one side of the planet is always in daylight and the other side is always in darkness. Proxima Centauri b is the closest exoplanet to Earth. It is only four light years away. However, since Proxima Centauri b is much closer to its star than Earth, there is a high probability that it is tidally locked, much like our Moon, where one side always faces the Earth. Related pages

This data visualization compares the relative distances and speeds of Proxima B's orbit to the Earth's orbit. Proxima B rapidly orbits its sun every 11.2 days. Earth's orbit around the sun takes 365 days to complete. Proxima B's orbit around its star takes 11.2 Earth days to complete. Background image comparing the relative sizes of our Sun to Proxima B's star. Proxima Centauri's radius is approximately 7 times smaller than our Sun's radius. Proxima Centauri b is the closest exoplanet to Earth. It is only four light years away. It's star is a red dwarf that is much smaller than our Sun. However, it is much closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun. It also orbits around it's star at a much faster rate than Earth. Related pages

This animation shows where Proxima Centauri B can be located in the Southern sky. It starts with a view of Earth and the camera moves to a view of the Southern sky, revealing the star constellations. Proxima Centauri is then highlighted and we quickly fly to it. Eventually, the planet unwraps into a flat plane showing a potential planetary surface without clouds. Proxima B, the nearest exoplanet to Earth (only four light years away), is located in the Southern sky just south of Centaurus and left of the Southern Cross. Related pages