Is the Proxima System Our Best Hope For Another Earth?

Thank you to Morning Brew for supporting PBS. To learn more and sign up go to https://cen.yt/mbpbsspace Take the Space Time Fan Survey Here: https://forms.gle/wS4bj9o3rvyhfKzUA PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to:http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACE At just four light years away, Proxima Centauri is our closest solar neighbor. The recent discovery of the new exoplanet Proxima D, has reopened the discussion of whether the proxima system is our best chance at reaching another Earth. How did we discover Proxima D? How do we know what the conditions are on planets so far away? Watch the episode to learn more. Sign Up on Patreon to get access to the Space Time Discord! https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetime Check out the Space Time Merch Store https://www.pbsspacetime.com/shop Sign up for the mailing list to get episode notifications and hear special announcements! https://mailchi.mp/1a6eb8f2717d/spacetime Hosted by Matt O'Dowd Written by Matt O'Dowd Post Production by Leonardo Scholzer, Yago Ballarini, Pedro Osinski, Adriano Leal & Stephanie Faria GFX Visualizations: Ajay Manuel Directed by Andrew Kornhaber Assistant Producer: Setare Gholipour Executive Producers: Eric Brown & Andrew Kornhaber Executives in Charge (PBS): Adam Dylewski, Maribel Lopez Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing Spacetime is produced by Kornhaber Brown for PBS Digital Studios. This program is produced by Kornhaber Brown, which is solely responsible for its content. © 2021 PBS. All rights reserved. End Credits Music by J.R.S. Schattenberg: https://www.youtube.com/user/MultiDroideka Special Thanks to Our Patreon Supporters Big Bang Mark Evans David Taiclet Ben Dimock Daniel Alexiuc Nenado763 Peter Barrett Nils Anderson David Neumann Charlie Leo Koguan Sandy Wu Matthew Miller Ahmad Jodeh Alexander Tamas Morgan Hough Juan Benet Vinnie Falco Fabrice Eap Mark Rosenthal David Nicklas Henry Van Styn Quasar Alex Kinsey Alex Kern Ethan Cohen Stephen Wilcox Christina Oegren Mark Heising Hank S Hypernova william bryan Sergio Bonfiglio drollere Joe Moreira Marc Armstrong Scott Gorlick Paul Stehr-Green Adam Walters Russell Pope Ben Delo Scott Gray Антон Кочков John R. Slavik Mathew Donal Botkin John Pollock Edmund Fokschaner Joseph Salomone chuck zegar Jordan Young m0nk Daniel Muzquiz Gamma Ray Burst Tony Affinito Lillith Montgomery Avi Yashchin MHL SHS Kory Kirk Joshua Friede Terje Vold Anatoliy Nagornyy Sam Kirkpatrick comboy Brett Baker Jeremy Soller Jonathan Conerly Andre Stechert Ross Bohner Paul Wood Kent Durham jim bartosh Nubble Chris Navrides Scott R Calkins The Mad Mechanic Ellis Hall John H. Austin, Jr. Diana S Ben Campbell Lawrence Tholl, DVM Faraz Khan Almog Cohen Alex Edwards Ádám Kettinger MD3 Endre Pech Daniel Jennings Cameron Sampson Pratik Mukherjee Geoffrey Clarion Nate Darren Duncan Russ Creech Jeremy Reed Eric Webster David Johnston J. King Michael Barton Christopher Barron James Ramsey Justin Jermyn Mr T Andrew Mann Isaac Suttell Devon Rosenthal Oliver Flanagan Bleys Goodson Robert Walter Bruce B Simon Oliphant Mirik Gogri Mark Delagasse Mark Daniel Cohen Brandon Lattin Nickolas Andrew Freeman Shane Calimlim Tybie Fitzhugh Robert Ilardi Eric Kiebler Craig Stonaha Martin Skans The Art of Sin Graydon Goss Frederic Simon Tonyface John Robinson A G David Neal Kevin Lee justahat John Funai Cass Costello Tristan Bradley Jenkins Kyle Hofer Daniel Stříbrný Luaan AlecZero Vlad Shipulin Cody Malte Ubl King Zeckendorff Nick Virtue Scott Gossett Dan Warren Patrick Sutton Daniel Lyons DFaulk Kevin Warne