Question 1

True or false: Proxima Centauri b is located in the Alpha Centauri star system, our nearest stellar neighbor.

Accepted Answer

True. It orbits Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, part of the triple Alpha Centauri system.

Question 2

True or false: Proxima Centauri b is tidally locked, with one side always facing its star.

Accepted Answer

True. Due to its close orbit, it likely experiences tidal locking, creating a permanent day side and night side.

Question 3

True or false: Proxima Centauri b receives about the same amount of starlight as Earth does from the Sun.

Accepted Answer

True. Despite its close orbit, Proxima Centauri is a dim red dwarf, so the planet gets roughly 65% of Earth’s sunlight.

Question 4

True or false: Proxima Centauri b likely experiences extreme stellar flares from its host star.

Accepted Answer

True. Red dwarfs like Proxima Centauri erupt with powerful flares, which could strip the planet’s atmosphere or affect surface conditions.

Question 5

True or false: Proxima Centauri b is closer to its star than Mercury is to our Sun.

Accepted Answer

True. It orbits at just 0.05 AU—about one-tenth Mercury’s distance—making its year only 11.2 Earth days.

Question 6

True or false: Proxima Centauri b has a thick atmosphere like Venus, making it a runaway greenhouse world.

Accepted Answer

False. No direct evidence of its atmosphere exists; models vary, but a Venus-like scenario is just one possibility, not confirmed.

Question 7

True or false: Proxima Centauri b is the only known exoplanet in the Alpha Centauri system.

Accepted Answer

False. Proxima Centauri also hosts a second planet (c) and possibly a dust belt; Alpha Centauri A and B have no confirmed planets.

Question 8

True or false: Proxima Centauri b was discovered using the Kepler space telescope.

Accepted Answer

False. It was found in 2016 via radial velocity data from the HARPS spectrograph on Earth, not Kepler.

Proxima Centauri b Trivia Questions