+- Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum (https://www.scivillage.com)
+-- Forum: Science (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-61.html)
+--- Forum: Astrophysics, Cosmology & Astronomy (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-74.html)
+--- Thread: The many mysteries of Proxima Centauri b (/thread-3278.html)
The many mysteries of Proxima Centauri b - C C - Jan 20, 2017
https://worldofweirdthings.com/the-many-mysteries-of-proxima-centauri-b-b084c59b9710
EXCERPT: When astronomers recently discovered evidence of a rocky world orbiting our nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri, there was much rejoicing and many scientists started wondering what life on that planet may be like. But now a team of researchers at an astronomy confab poured some cold water on these ideas. We’ve already covered that red dwarfs belch a huge amount of radiation on a regular basis because their low mass allows vast flows of plasma to supercharge their magnetic fields, and now, two teams applied this dynamic to models emulating Proxima Centauri b’s evolution throughout its 5 billion year existence. The result? Based on what we know so far, this world should be a radioactive, lifeless desert. Over the eons, the massive flares would’ve boiled off all water and scoured the surface of life, even with a magnetic field to try and protect itself since its star would have an especially active phase lasting for 300 to 400 million years, very easily overwhelming the planet’s defenses. Or so the models show...
RE: The many mysteries of Proxima Centauri b - elte - Jan 20, 2017
My grade school library had a book on the planets of our solar system. I liked the artists conception drawings like that one for the surface of that planet in the article about Alpha Centauri B. I took out that book many times.
RE: The many mysteries of Proxima Centauri b - C C - Jan 21, 2017
(Jan 20, 2017 01:20 PM)elte Wrote: My grade school library had a book on the planets of our solar system. I liked the artists conception drawings like that one for the surface of that planet in the article about Alpha Centauri B. I took out that book many times.
I'm not sure when Frank R. Paul illustrated these (some sources speak of it being the 1930s, others between 1926 and 1929). He had one for each planet and maybe for some moons, with explanations for the appearances based on the size, mass, distance, and atmosphere of the worlds as then believed.
Alien Life In Our Solar System According to Frank R. Paul
http://io9.gizmodo.com/alien-life-in-our-solar-system-according-to-pulp-art-l-471363935
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/frank-r-paul-vintage-illustrations-life-on-other-planets-1930s_n_2980850.html
http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/scifi/life-solar-system-imagined-pulp-artist-frank-paul.html
RE: The many mysteries of Proxima Centauri b - elte - Jan 21, 2017
There could be some coincidence in his employment at that time with the stock market crash. Those years were a bit before the famous War of the Worlds radio show depicting a Martian invasion of earth that some listeners mistook for news. His use of shading and vivid color give captivating effect on magazine covers, piquing imagination about distant worlds.