Attractive lens helps to search for alien life

Researchers can detect conditions that are most relevant to life on the nearest Earth star system in rare gravitational lens events.

The fact that gravitational lensing takes place after 12 years will give astronomers an opportunity to observe and determine whether the "copy of Earth" Proxima b has conditions suitable for life, according to The Sun.

The research team at the Southern European Observatory (ESO) in Chile spent many years collecting accurate motion measurement data of Alpha Centauri A and B , the pair of stars rotating around each other at high speed. Observations allow them to predict the motion of this star system in the sky until 2050.

The researchers predict that Alpha Centauri A (orange) and B (red) pairs will align with S5 (the bright white star in the upper left corner) in 2028. (Photo: ESO).

According to ESO researchers, Alpha Centauri A will move in front of a distant red star named S5 in 2028. This is an opportunity for planet search specialists to take advantage of the effects of gravitational lenses. This phenomenon occurs when light from a distant object is bent around the star due to gravity, according to the general theory of relativity of physicist Albert Einstein.

If the objects lie in close alignment, the telescope can capture the "Eisntein circle" image , a circle of light from a distant source, surrounding all sides of the object closer to Earth.

"In May 2028, the possibility of light from star 5S will create Einstein's circle around Alpha Centauri A, which can be observed with ESO's telescope system. This phenomenon will provide unique opportunities. to search for planets or low-mass objects in the nearest star system, " the ESO team said.

The deflection in the circle Einstein will show the existence of the planet orbiting the star. Astronomers hope to be able to calculate the mass and many other features of the planet outside the solar system."This event is particularly interesting with the recent discovery of the Proxima planet b surrounding the third star Proxima Centauri also belonging to Alpha Centauri star system , " the team at ESO commented.

In early October, scientists at Marseille Astrophysics Laboratory, France, concluded that Proxima b is one of the most potential candidates to seek life in the universe. The rocky planet discovered in August is likely to have an ocean covering the entire surface.

Proxima b is located in an area that can live from the parent star with a suitable surface temperature for developmental life. It is estimated that the planet is 1.3 times the size of the Earth and 4.22 light-years from the solar system.