Frequent flaring of Proxima Centauri means bad news for its rocky planet

Proxima Centauri is a cool red dwarf with about one-eighth of the sun's mass. Although it is the closest star to the sun, located just 4.2 light-years from the solar system in the triple star system of alpha Centauri, it is not visible to the naked eye. What makes this star particularly interesting is the recent discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet in its habitable zone: a region around the central star where the presence of liquid water is possible on a planetary surface.