Proxima b Might Be a Habitable 'Ocean Planet'

Using this information, a team led by researchers at the Marseille Astrophysics Laboratory in France, developed different models to help discover what the conditions might be like on the rocky exoplanet, according to a statement from NASA. The new findings suggest Proxima b could have a large liquid ocean covering its entire surface and stretching 124 miles (200 kilometers) deep, as well as a thin gas atmosphere much like that found on Earth. Scientists have proposed different ideas about Proxima b's composition and surface conditions, and the new models provide more information that could help inform those ideas, NASA officials said in the statement.