Discovery: The Earth Next Door – Exoplanet Science Gets a Boost

The Space Frontier Foundation, a global non-profit organization committed to opening the space frontier to human settlement through the power of free enterprise, announced today that it has partnered with the Luxembourg Space Agency to host the 2nd annual NewSpace Europe Conference on November 27 and 28, 2018, at the European Convention Center Luxembourg (ECCL). Hundreds of leaders from industry and government will come together to explore how the industry can break down barriers to economic growth and fuel the expansion of the newspace industry with a focus on launch, remote sensing, space-based economy, investment, and communication. 

Scientists have found the closest planet to Earth – four light-years away – that could support life. This means more than just the discovery itself, it could herald in a new era of exoplanet science that is more focused, driving better results.

Here’s a roundup of some great articles on the discovery and what it means for us:

Scientific American: The Earth Next Door (@LeeBillings)

The New York Times: One Star Over, a Planet That Might Be Another Earth (@kchangnyt)

Mashable: Scientists find potentially habitable planet in closest alien star system to Earth (@mirikramer)

Buzzfeed: Our Nearest Star Has An Earth-Like Planet And Scientists Are Seriously Excited (@TomChivers)

The Guardian: Discovery of potentially Earth-like planet Proxima b raises hopes for life (@NicolaKSDavis)

Space.com: Proxima b: Closest Earth-Like Planet Discovery in Pictures (@HannekeScience)

BBC News: Earth-sized world ‘around nearest star’ (@BBCAmos)

Slate: Astronomers Discover a New Planet Orbiting the Closest Star to the Sun! (@BadAstronomer)

Washington Post: Scientists say they’ve found a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, our closest neighbor (@RachelFeltman)