Proxima Centauri b is an exoplanet that orbits Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf star that is part of the Alpha Centauri star system. The planet was discovered in August 2016, and it is located just 4.24 light-years away from Earth, making it the closest known exoplanet to us. Proxima Centauri b is approximately 1.3 times the size of Earth, and it orbits its star at a distance of about 0.05 astronomical units (AU), which is much closer than the distance between Mercury and the Sun. The planet's orbi