The Eternal Twilight of the Tidally Locked Exoplanet Proxima Centauri b
A World of Perpetual Hemispheric Contrast Proxima Centauri b represents a cornerstone of contemporary exoplanetary science. Located a mere 4.2 light-years from the Sun, this Earth-mass planet orbits within the temperate zone of its host star, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri. Due to its extreme proximity to its parent star—a distance of only 7.5 million kilometers—the planet has succumbed to tidal locking. This gravitational synchronization ensures that the same hemisphere is perpetually oriented toward the stellar surface, creating a permanent state of daylight on one side and an unending, frozen night on the other. Atmospheric Dynamics and Thermal Equilibrium The physical environment of Proxima Centauri b is dictated by its orbital architecture. While the stellar flux received by the planet is roughly 65 percent...