St. Louis Science Center: Astronomy Fact Of The Day: January 20, 2022

St. Louis MO

21 January, 2022

9:31 AM

Description

Press release from St. Louis Science Center: January 20, 2022 The closest star to us is Proxima Centauri, which is approximately 4.37 light years away from the Sun and hosts two known exoplanets. With new theoretical technology known as solar sails, a company called Breakthrough Starshot has proposed a flyby mission to the exoplanet Proxima Centauri b. If the solar sails perform as expected, the spacecraft could arrive in 20-30 years. This press release was produced by St. Louis Science Center. The views expressed here are the author's own.