PROXIMA b!
In a story via the ESO and APOD I have read about
PROXIMA b
That cool sounding name is the newly spotted planet orbiting the very closest star to your planet other than your yellow sun. Proxima Centauri can’t be seen with your unaided human eyes, unlike the brighter cousins Alpha Centauri AB. Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf. Proxima b orbits at some 5% Earth/Sun distance, so it is closer to its sun than Mercury is to your yellow ball. However, since it is relatively cool, it is in a distance zone that could permit water. Being only some 4 lightyears out, it is within range of relatively real-time communication, with a turn around time of only 8 years and change.
This has me thinking about the book by Michael O’Brien Voyage To Alpha Centauri, in which the author makes his remarkably able first foray into sic fi. US HERE – UK HERE Or read it on a Kindle.
There are some pretty harrowing points in O’Brien’s book… harrowing to anyone paying attention to what is going on here and now, that is. As with most of his books, he could stand to listen to an editor a bit more. But it is a great read.
Proxima b!
I have a short story in my head already.
