Alpha Centauri Bb

Alpha Centauri B-flat is a potentially existing extrasolar planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri B, which is located about 4.37 light-years away in the southern constellation Centaurus. Its discovery was announced in October 2012. The discovery was seen by experts from the start with skepticism. A recent study has not confirmed the discovery (but not definitely disproved ).

If the planet exists, it is the Earth nearest extrasolar planet and one of the least massive known planets orbiting a sun-like star. The minimum mass of the exoplanet is given by the discoverers with approximately 1.1 Earth masses slightly larger than an Earth mass. The orbit of the exoplanet around Alpha Centauri B is indicated with an orbital period of 3.236 days and a semimajor axis of 0.04 AU.