00:00 What would the Earth look like if it was born in another solar system?
00:05 I did a little research for you to find out, and the results were surprisingly wholesome.
00:10 There are some warm tropics, strong winds, and giant dragonflies.
00:16 But okay, let me explain from the very beginning.
00:20 Since 1995, NASA has discovered more than 4,100 planets outside the solar system.
00:28 Unfortunately, most of them are either flying ice balls like Neptune or gas giants like Jupiter.
00:35 But there are still as many as 161 planets similar to our Earth.
00:41 And one of them is very close to us, in the Alpha Centauri constellation.
00:47 There are three stars in this constellation.
00:50 Two of them are called Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B.
00:55 If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you've probably seen them.
00:58 They're very bright. Because of that, they look like one big star.
01:03 They rotate around each other very slowly.
01:08 And there's the third star, chilling around not far from them.
01:11 It's a teeny tiny red dwarf, Proxima Centauri.
01:15 It got its name because of its proximity to our Sun.
01:18 This star is the most interesting one, so let's talk more about it.
01:23 Proxima Centauri is only 4.5 light-years away from us.
01:27 Oh, and one light-year is about 6 trillion miles.
01:30 Yep, if we went there, it would have taken just a little over 165,000 years of traveling in a space shuttle.
01:38 Oh, you think that's a lot?
01:40 For the Universe, it's like checking on your fridge.
01:44 Proxima Centauri is much lighter and much smaller than the Sun.
01:48 It's also two times colder than the Sun.
01:50 With a temperature of 3,000 Kelvin.
01:54 That's why we can't see it without a telescope.
01:57 On the bright side though, it will burn for trillions of years.
02:01 And you don't have to worry that one day it will eat us like our Sun.
02:05 And yes, our twin planet is located right next to Proxima Centauri.
02:10 This planet is called Proxima b.
02:13 Yeah, I know, they got creative with all these names.
02:16 I hope you won't get confused.
02:19 It's slightly larger and more massive than the Earth.
02:23 This planet is located in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri.
02:28 It means that there can be water and even some microorganisms there.
02:33 Yes, it's possible that one day we'll find some life there.
02:37 But right now, we don't know much about this mysterious planet.
02:41 It's probably a rocky planet like our Earth and has a similar landscape.
02:45 But this is just a theory.
02:47 Who knows what kind of jokes the universe can throw at us.
02:51 It would be a shame to fly 165,000 years just to stumble upon a giant piece of ice or something.
02:58 Fortunately, we probably don't have to wait that long.
03:01 The big brains are now developing a technology that would allow us to move at the speed close to the speed of light.
03:08 If they succeed, we'll get to Proxima b in just 20 years.
03:13 But anyway, this video is not just about Proxima b.
03:16 It's about what would have happened if life had originated not in our solar system, but in Alpha Centauri.
03:23 What if we were orbiting Proxima Centauri or the other two stars?
03:28 So now, let's imagine that the Earth has replaced Proxima b.
03:33 I'm going to call this new planet New Earth.
03:36 Guess I'm not very creative at naming either.
03:39 First of all, the orbit.
03:41 The New Earth must be about 25 times closer to its star than Proxima b is.
03:47 Otherwise, it would be unimaginably cold.
03:50 Let's move the planet a little closer.
03:52 Excellent.
03:54 The day still lasts 24 hours, but our orbital period is very high.
03:59 Proxima b revolves around its star in 11 days.
04:03 But we'll make it in just 8.
04:05 Hey, a birthday party every week?
04:07 Sign me up.
04:09 Oh, hold on. There's another problem.
04:12 You see, Proxima Centauri is a flare star.
04:15 This means that sometimes, just out of nowhere, it throws out some stellar winds.
04:20 These winds carry around a bunch of ionized particles, which then settle on the planets.
04:26 Yeah, our sun also does that.
04:29 But Proxima Centauri tries to finish us off 2,000 times harder than our sun.
04:34 So the radiation levels are off the scale, to say the least.
04:38 Don't worry, it's fine. All we need are incredibly strong magnetic fields.
04:43 They will help us create a very thick atmosphere that can protect us from the Proxima Centauri's tantrums.
04:49 So now it's going to be very warm. Or not.
04:53 Another problem.
04:54 Scientists are still not sure how exactly Proxima Centauri's planets rotate around it.
05:00 What if they turn out to be tidally locked, like our moon?
05:03 Then one half of the New Earth will be a frying pan, and the other half will be some frosty deserts.
05:09 Oh, it's fine. We'll just settle down somewhere in the middle.
05:13 Didn't expect that I would ever say this, but it will definitely be warm at the North Pole.
05:18 And if we're lucky with the rotation, we'll just get a cozy, warm planet.
05:23 The average temperature is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and there aren't any extreme temperatures.
05:30 On the New Earth, we have much more water.
05:34 The weather is generally pretty crazy.
05:36 Some very strong winds and quite destructive rains that can go on for quite a long time.
05:41 But you can adapt.
05:44 Temperature changes are much more noticeable in the mountains.
05:47 Just like on Earth, the higher you climb, the colder it gets.
05:51 Except it's very cold right here at the top.
05:54 Because of this, the mountains and hills have jungles below and snow-covered deserts on the tops.
06:01 But in general, it's almost like the Earth's tropics.
06:04 The flora is very rich. The trees are very low, but lush.
06:10 The thick atmosphere also makes flying easier, so there are a lot of large flying animals.
06:16 Like dragonflies with a wingspan of 16 feet.
06:19 Uh-huh. Moving on.
06:21 The sky here is much lighter than that on Earth and very cloudy.
06:26 Sometimes it may seem completely white.
06:29 But the starry night is beautiful and bright.
06:32 There are four suns. Our main one is Proxima Centauri.
06:37 We can also see two bright Alpha Centauri stars.
06:40 And finally, our old sun, which looks like a bright, distant star.
06:45 I'll allow you to shed a tear for the old Earth.
06:49 There's a few planets near us, like Proxima Centauri C.
06:53 The host star is surrounded by two belts of cosmic dust, so get ready for some gorgeous, colorful night views.
07:01 So what we have in the end is a little crazy, but a beautiful green planet.
07:07 I personally wouldn't mind moving there already. What about you? Write in the comments.
07:13 All right, so now we know what would have happened if our Earth had been born near Proxima Centauri.
07:19 What about the other two stars?
07:21 Unfortunately, we won't be able to rotate near two stars at the same time.
07:26 Scientists suspect that Alpha Centauri A and B have some kind of common planet that jumps from one orbit to another.
07:34 But it's probably very cold.
07:37 Let's choose Alpha Centauri A.
07:40 Just like on the New Earth, here our average temperatures are about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
07:45 But now the temperature variation is quite large.
07:49 It goes from negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit at the South Pole to 113 degrees Fahrenheit at the equator.
07:57 Eh, we'll be fine close to the North.
08:00 The day is still 24 hours, and the orbital period is one year and one month.
08:06 It's almost the same for the Alpha Centauri B, but the orbital period is about half a year.
08:12 Other conditions are very similar to those on Earth.
08:16 Changes in the seasons are almost not noticeable. The temperatures don't change much either.
08:22 No matter where we settle down, the neighboring star will be clearly visible, but we probably won't see Proxima Centauri.
08:30 And that's about it. Of course, all this assumes perfect conditions.
08:34 Just like on Earth, one slightest change, whether it's a thin atmosphere or a bigger distance from the star, and it won't end well.
08:43 We got really lucky with our Earth.
08:46 But even so, the chances of finding a habitable planet are very high.
08:51 Even with the tiniest possibility, there will be about 15 million planets in our universe that we can find life on.
08:59 (dramatic music)
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