Neighbors on the Planet "Gubug Penceng"

Neighbors on the Planet "Gubug Penceng"
A number of astronomers discovered a planet around the star Alpha Centauri B (Reuters October 19, 2012, page 13 / Kompas.com "It's Near Earth exoplanet")
On the same day as the publication Kompas, the scientific and astronomical astronomy magazine in the world, also described the sensational discovery of the planet closest to Earth: awesome, recently discovered after so long sought.
Star Alpha Centauri, which since the end of the 18th century known as double stars (in pairs), is the closest star to Earth. The distance is only 4.4 light-years from the Sun (about 40 trillion miles). A light year is equivalent to 9.5 trillion miles.
In astronomical scale, the distance was short, like distance "neighbor" in the densely populated major cities. Alpha Centauri and Earth is a member of the Milky Way.
The galaxy is a collection of 2 billion mass variety, colors, dimensions, and age of the star. The sun is only a small star, one of the components forming galaxies in the form of disc diameter of about 100,000 light years.
Alpha Centauri has been known by ancient civilizations and astronomy as a bright light and a unique position. Farmers, sailors, and our ancestors considered important because Alpha Centauri is the third brightest star in the sky and the brightest antero in parts of the southern sky. This star is easily visible with the naked eye as a star Beta Centauri much fainter.
At the beginning of the dry season in Java, both stars were appearing on the horizon southeast at sunset on the western horizon. If both stars coupled with a virtual line, a hyphen it leads to a very famous constellation, the constellation Gubug Penceng (astronomical name: Crux).
The constellation is shaped like a kite. Penceng hut (in Javanese means slanted shack) in Western culture called the Southern Cross. Gubug Penceng become immortal compass for farmers and sailors as a line connecting the two fictitious always points to the south.
In Java, in April constellation is an indication the coming dry season. In the middle of the dry season (June), at midnight, Gubug Penceng dominate the southern sky standing upright. To the east (left), looks drives the Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. Both stars were in Javanese mythology represent two eyeballs "wulanjar send" virgin eyes who want to send food to his parents in the shack tilt.
Exploration
Alpha Centauri is not only the closest star to the Sun, but it can also be said to be its twin. Surface temperature are both about the same, but the mass of Alpha Centauri 10 percent larger than the mass of the Sun. Because like, do not be surprised when the star was the target of the search for planets similar to Earth. Hopefully, finding planets similar to the Earth and its parent star at a distance that allows life to grow.
However, since the exploration of exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) in the 1990s, undiscovered planet near Alpha Centauri although to date 870 exoplanets have been confirmed and more than 3,000 planet candidates object that has not obtained confirmation. Earth-sized planet was first discovered in 1995 revolved around a star so far away, Star 51 Pegassi. It was not a solid planet, but the gas giant planets.
New planet
Couple Alpha Centuri called Alpha Centauri B, a waltz with Alpha Centauri A, with a period of 80 years on. Alpha Centauri B is what has planet found this year and is a culmination of work for 3 years.
Planet Alpha Centauri B Alpha Centauri named Bb notation in the nomenclature system of exoplanets that cause motion Alpha Centauri B shifted to the radial direction (forward and backward) with a speed of 50 cm per second. Speed ​​can only be observed with special spectroscope, systematic, and over the long run. The team with the spectroscope HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher) mounted on the 3.6-meter telescope at the top of La Silla, Chile, managed to find planet Earth's neighbor.
On the one hand it was fun, but on the other hand "disappointing" because of the distance from the planet Alpha Centauri B is only a quarter of an average distance of Earth to the Sun (150 million kilometers). Distance is smaller than the distance of Mercury from the Sun.
That makes the planet very quickly circulated Bb, 3.2 days (one year on this planet only 3.2 days). In addition, the same face towards its star locked. As a result, the planet's surface temperature from one day to 1,200 degrees celsius.
The planet is located far from the zone of life around Centaurus B. However, from the experience of looking for other exoplanets, if there is a small planet close to its parent star, the planet has a "friend" another planet some distance.
Inference this gives hope that at some point will be found on another planet around Alpha Centauri B. However, astronomers should not be complacent to the conclusion that the Earth's planetary neighbor automatically bring life organizer planet. There are many other conditions that must be met exoplanets as a trough of life.
Bambang Hidayat, Indonesian Academy of Sciences