On August 24, 2016, astronomers announced the discovery of a rocky planet in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth. Called Proxima b, the planet is 1.3 times the mass of Earth and has an orbital period of roughly 11.2 Earth days. However Proxima Centauri 's classification as a red dwarf casts doubts on the habitability of any exoplanets in its orbit due to low stellar flux, high probability of tidal locking, small circumstellar habitable zones and high stellar variation. Another likely candidate is Alpha Centauri, Earth 's nearest Sun - like star system 4.37 light years away. Estimates place the probability of finding a habitable planet around Alpha Centauri A or B at roughly 85 %. Alpha Centauri is the target of several exoplanet - finding missions, including Breakthrough Starshot and Mission Centaur, the latter of which is chronicled in the 2016 documentary film, "The Search for Earth Proxima. ''
what's the closest habitable planet to earth
Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri