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Proxima Centauri b — Description

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i recommend downloading to see all detail. also, large file size, sorry if it takes long.

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decided to get off my lazy butt and finally make something. did proxima cen b, definately overdue but i still did it. did a little different style here, just trying something new. i think it came out ok.

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Image Self Critique and Description

-here i went for a slightly more realistic looking planet. used images of earth from space as references to help better fit the planet. used a less prominant shadow which is common in many earth shots from the day side. also a less prominant atmosphere but still noticably there.
-instead of using spherize in photoshop, i wrapped the 2d textures onto a 3d sphere in blender. i think this work's best as it results in less weird surface distortion and proportions, so it looks more natural. same was done with the clouds.
-i also aligned the clouds to the land masses and brushed over it to make it look like its interacting with them, just to help pull the textures together so they don't look like they exist separately from one another.
-tried for more realistic lighting as well with the star's colour, tried to get it as close to the actual colour that would be observed, along with the intensity.
-to be honest, the planet looks better in white light, but i have to keep it scientifically accurate and use the red hue to simulate the star.
-i also added a noise layer over the whole image to help simulate an image from a satelite. it's not very noticable but it's there. it also helps break up all the smooth gradients that would be common in cgi, and so helps the planet look less "plastic'.
-other than that, i think i can make the more realistic appearance work, albeit for planets that orbit white stars like the sun. it's harder for stars with a colouration as it makes it more difficult to replicate the same "look" you would see in a photo of the earth as seen from space.

you can find out more here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxima_…

so please let your eyes enjoy and leave any comments, favs or critiques, which are always welcome and appreciated!
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Proxima Centauri b

constellation: ................... Centaurus
distance from earth: .......... 4.224 ly
star's name: ..................... Proxima Centauri
star's type: ....................... M6Ve
star's mass: ...................... 0.1221 solar masses
star's radius: ..................... 0.1542 solar radii
star's luminosity: .............. 0.0017 solar luminosities
star's temperature: ........... 3,042 Kelvin
system's name: ................. Alpha Centauri
# stars in system: .............. 3
# planets in system: .......... 1
system's age: ..................... 4.85 billion years

planet's status: ................. confirmed
planet's name: .................. Proxima Centauri b
habitability class: .............. M - Warm Terran
thermal class: .................... Psychro Planet
stellar flux: ........................ 0.65 earth units
earth similarity index: ....... 0.85

planet's radius: ................ unknown
planet's mass: .................. >1.27 earth masses
planet's density: ............... unknown
surface gravity: ................ unknown
rotation period: ................ likely to be tidally locked.
atm. comp.: ...................... unknown
atm. pressure: .................. unknown
average eq. temp: ............. 234 Kelvin/ - 39 Celsius
average surface temp: ....... unknown
# satellites: ....................... likely none

orbital eccentricity: ............ <0.35
orbital distance: ................. 0.05 au
year: .................................. 11.186 earth days
place in system: ................. near the center of the conservative habitable zone.

Description

Proxima Centauri b is a near earth sized planet orbiting the M-type star; Proxima Centauri, roughly 4.2 light years away in the Alpha Centauri System in the constellation of Centaurus. It was detected through the radial velocity method which detects planets by measuring the change in light of the star as it and its planet orbit around their barycenter. First evidence of the planet was recorded in 2013 with confirmation of its existence in August of 2016. This makes it the closest and smallest exoplanet to earth that also orbits within the star's habvitable zone. The habitable zone is the region around a star where liquid water can exist on a planet or moon's surface given high enough surface pressure. The planet is also one of the Highest ranking planets in terms of similarity to earth with an ESI of 0.85.

The orbital inclination of the planet is currently unknown and so only a minimum mass of 1.3 earth masses for the planet is known. Given the most likely orbital inclinations, the planet's mass is likely to be between 1.3 and 3 earth masses. Assuming a rocky compostion similar to earth's, the planet's radius is likely to be no less than 1.1 earth radii. However, due to the planet's position in the system and it's mass, it is not likely that it formed there and so migrated inward from further out. As a result, it may have a large fraction of volatiles such as water and gases, increasing it's radius with the likelyhood of this being greater than 10%. If this is indeed the case, then the planet may be covered in a global ocean with a thick atmosphere, making it an ocean world.

If the planet does instead have an earth-like composition and is rocky, it would be a cold world with an average equilibrium temperature of -39 celsius. If the planet has a dense atmosphere, its surface temperature could be over the freezing point of water and allow for flowing water and oceans, which would allow for more temperate condions. As the planet is larger than earth, it will also have slightly higher surface gravity.

Proxima Centauri is smaller and cooler than the Sun and so it's habitable zone is much closer to it, placing any planet in it, within the tidal locking radius of the star. Thus, the planet is most likely tidally locked to the star with one side always facing it. As the star is dim, the daylight brightness on the planet would not exceed that at twilight on earth with the planet being bathed in a reddish-orange hue from the star's light.

The star is also known to be a flare-star and has random and frequent increases in brightness and stellar activity. These flare-ups can impact the atmosphere of the planet as it is so close to the star, stripping it away over time. If this is the case, then the planet may have no or very little atmosphere and so, no water on it's surface making it a barren world. If there is a strong enough magnetic field, then the atmosphere may be preserved and the prior scenario avoided.

As the planet is likely to be tidally locked, it is highly unlikely for there to be any large moons, as the close proximity to the star would disrupt their orbits.
The planet is the only one yet confirmed in the system, but the probability of other large planets has not been ruled out. There may be other large planets in orbit near planet b but on misaligned orbits and further out.

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