By Dailymail.com Reporter
Published: 23:57 BST, 13 April 2019 | Updated: 23:57 BST, 13 April 2019
View
comments
Scientists believe they may have discovered a new planet orbiting the star which is closest to our sun.
Possibly two planets could be orbiting a small red dwarf called Proxima Centauri which is around 4.24 light-years away.
'We are pleased to show you, for the first time, what is for us a new candidate planet around Proxima that we call Proxima c,' Mario Damasso of Italy's Observatory of Turin announced on Friday during the 2019 Breakthrough Discuss conference.
This artist's impression shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System. However, it is now thought that a second planet, Proxima c is also in orbit around Proxima Centauri
Scientists already knew about the first planet, Proxima Centauri b (blue orbit) but believe a second planet orbits around the star and has been called Proxima Centauri c (red orbit)
'It is only a candidate,' Damasso says. 'This is very important to underline.'
If there is a planet orbiting the star, it would be at least six times larger than Earth - giving it the title of a super-Earth.
Its orbit would take around 1,900 days to complete a loop around the star which would