Major Gazer

Proxima B A Nearby World Awaiting Discovery

10 min · 2. maj 2026
episode Proxima B A Nearby World Awaiting Discovery cover

Beskrivelse

Meet Proxima b: a 1.3-Earth-mass rock just 4.2 light-years away, whipping around a red dwarf every 11 days—likely eternal day on one side, night on the other. Astronomers spotted it in Proxima Centauri’s wobble (radial velocity), led by Guillem Anglada-Escudé—not by a direct image. It’s in the habitable zone but blasted by ~250x Earth’s X-rays; Breakthrough Starshot wants 0.2c chip-size laser sails to fly by and beam back pictures in about 24 years.

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episode NASA's playbook: what happens in the first 72 hours cover

NASA's playbook: what happens in the first 72 hours

Humanity’s closest thing to a first-contact plan is a few-page, non-binding SETI Post-Detection Protocol: verify the signal, tell the IAA/IAU and the UN Secretary-General, and don’t reply without “international consultation.” Problem: it’s basically a gentlemen’s agreement (Jill Tarter’s words), UNOOSA has no first-contact mandate, there’s no timeline, and nobody’s actually named as having authority to speak for Earth. Meanwhile the protocol mostly covers radio signals — not weird physical stuff like Oumuamua, which was spotted after it passed the Sun and sparked peer-reviewed debate (including Avi Loeb arguing an artificial origin couldn’t be ruled out). In 2026 terms, a private lab, company, or even a grad student could find something first and go public or transmit a message with zero legal barrier.

21. maj 202611 min