Astronomers have officially announced the discovery of a terrestrial, potentially rocky planet orbiting within the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, our absolute closest stellar neighbour! Named Proxima Centauri b, this world sits a mere 4.2 light-years away from our own solar system.

It contains roughly 1.3 times the mass of the Earth, and its orbit is close enough to its red dwarf star that liquid water could theoretically pool on its surface. Obviously, being so close to a volatile red dwarf means it faces intense ultraviolet and X-ray flaring, but the mere fact that a world like this exists right on our galactic doorstep is electrifying. It makes you look up at the night sky and wonder what kind of alien vistas are waiting to be photographed by future generations of interstellar probes.