Scientists at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK have suggested that Proxima Centauri, which is the closest star to Earth after the Sun, could have been stolen from its system. Research published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Experts in the field of astronomy created a simulation of cosmic processes and found that Proxima Centauri, in orbit of which there is a potentially colonizable exoplanet Proxima b, did not form next to the binary star of the Alpha Centauri system, but was pulled from the depths of space.
If the scientists' guesses are correct, then such a cosmic attraction could affect the habitability of the planet Proxima b. However, the likelihood that gravity will pull a celestial body out of the habitable zone and make it unsuitable for colonization is extremely small.
If Proxima Centauri was attracted from the outside by its larger neighbors, then according to our calculations, they have an impact on the planet relatively recently, which means that Proxima b itself will stay in the habitable zone for a long time - a fragment of a published study.
Clara Minack