---
title: "Scientists Find Evidence of Second Planet Orbiting Closest Star"
description: "An international team of astronomers have found new evidence of a second exoplanet orbiting Proxima Centauri, called Proxima c."
date: "2020-01-16"
modified: "2020-01-16"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-evidence-second-planet-orbiting-closest-star"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "Exoplanets"
  - "proxima b"
  - "proxima centauri"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists Find Evidence of Second Planet Orbiting Closest Star

![An international team of astronomers have found new evidence of a second exoplanet orbiting Proxima Centauri, called Proxima c.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/scientists-evidence-second-planet-orbiting-closest-star.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: ESO/M. Kornmesser\</em\>*

## Howdy Neighbor

An international team of astronomers have found new evidence of a second exoplanet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the star that's closest to the Sun at only [4.22 light years](<https://www.space.com/18090-alpha-centauri-nearest-star-system.html>) away.

"Proxima is our closest neighbor in an immense universe," co-author Fabio Del Sordo, an astronomer at Yale University, [told ](<https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-curious-case-of-proxima-c/>)*[Scientific American](<https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-curious-case-of-proxima-c/>).* "How could we not be charmed by it?”

## Proxima C

In [a study](<https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/3/eaax7467>) published in the journal *Planetary Science* today, the team suggests that "Proxima c," a suspected super-Earth about six to eight times heavier than Earth, could be orbiting Proxima Centauri every 1,900 Earth days.

The astronomers found the evidence by examining 17 years of data from instruments run by the European Southern Observatory in Chile. They found persistent and regular light signals collected by the observatories, suggesting the existence of an orbiting planet.

## Mo' Doubt

It will take a lot more data, however, to fully confirm the existence of the freezing exoplanet, as [*MIT Technology Review* points out](<https://www.technologyreview.com/f/615055/there-might-be-another-exoplanet-hiding-around-our-closest-star/>).

Luckily, that might soon change thanks to the European Space Agency's [Gaia spacecraft](<https://futurism.com/tags/gaia>), as noted in the paper — a space observatory that measures the positions and motions of stars, which is set to release a ton of new data in the coming years.

**READ MORE:** [There might be another exoplanet hiding around our closest star](<https://www.technologyreview.com/f/615055/there-might-be-another-exoplanet-hiding-around-our-closest-star/>) \[*MIT Technology Review*\]

**More on Proxima Centauri:** *[A Nearby Planet Thought to Host Life Was Just Blasted With Radiation](<https://futurism.com/proxima-b-blasted-radiation>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)