Proxima Cen b: A World 4.2 Light-Years From Earth

June 10, 2026

Proxima Cen b: A World 4.2 Light-Years From Earth

Proxima Cen b is a planet almost exactly Earth's size, orbiting the star closest to our Sun — just 4.24 light-years away. But could it support life? Scientists are still working to uncover the secrets of this nearby, mysterious world.

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Exploring Space

June 10, 2026

How Far Away Is the Nearest Star?

The nearest star beyond our Sun is called Proxima Centauri, and it is about 4.24 light-years away. That sounds close, but even the fastest spacecraft ever built would take tens of thousands of years to get there. Find out why star distances are so hard to imagine!

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Exploring Space

June 8, 2026

How Far Is Far? Space Is Bigger Than You Think

Light circles Earth seven times a second — yet still takes years to reach the nearest star. Here's how far 'far' really is in space.

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Could Kepler-991 b Be Friendly to Life?
Kepler-991 b is a planet more than 1,200 light-years away that scientists discovered in 2016. It's bigger than Earth, orbits a calm orange star, and has a temperature that might not rule out life — but there's still a lot we don't know.
TOI-1718 b: A New World Around TOI-1718
TOI-1718 b is a scorching hot planet nearly four times wider than Earth, racing around its star in less than six days. It belongs to a type of world that doesn't exist in our solar system — and scientists are just beginning to uncover its secrets.
How Long Would It Take to Reach Gl 725 A b?
Gl 725 A b is one of the closest exoplanets to Earth, but even at 11.5 light-years away, it would take our fastest spacecraft about 209,000 years to get there. Find out what that distance really means and what we know about this nearby world.
HD 85426 c: Getting to Know a Mini-Neptune
HD 85426 c is a faraway world bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and scientists have already figured out some surprising things about it. Find out what it might be made of, how hot it gets, and why this planet is such a great example of how space science works.
Inside TOI-178: A Family of 6 Planets
About 205 light-years away, a cool orange star is home to six planets packed tightly together and moving in a perfectly timed rhythm. This amazing system breaks many rules scientists expected — and it has a lot to teach us about how planetary families form.