Proxima b and the Limits of Habitability: Atmospheres, Heat Redistribution, and the Roadmap for Exoplanet Exploration

To the point

Sarah Hörst explains that Proxima b could potentially host liquid water if its atmosphere, water, and energy sources align, but being in the habitable zone doesn’t guarantee habitability; we don’t know if it has an atmosphere or how heat is distributed because it’s tidally locked, JWST could help by watching how heat is emitted, exoplanet science is rapidly advancing with new data and ideas about ocean worlds, Hörst mentions Proxima b could be an ocean world in theory, and near-term missions to icy moons plus the dream of robotic (not human) probes reaching Proxima b show how our exploration of worlds near and far keeps evolving.