back to article Boffins: Sun's red dwarf neighbour is looking a little thick around the middle

New research suggests that a dust belt may be circling the closest star to the Sun, a red dwarf named Proxima Centauri. Guillem Anglada at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalucía in Granada, Spain, led the work (PDF), which was accepted for publication last week in Astrophysical Journal Letters. He told The Register a belt …

  1. deadlockvictim

    El Reg» Proxima Centauri... more like Pulvereus Centauri, amirite?*

    'Pulvereus' means dusty. 'Proxima' is either feminine singular (nominative or ablative) or neuter plural (nominative, vocative or accusative) and I'm going with nominative feminine singular. That would make dusty then 'pulverea'.

    However, once named, may a celestial body be renamed?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Centaurus eunt domus!

  2. Primus Secundus Tertius

    Distance units

    "Earth-Sun distance"

    Surely Reg readers know that 1 Astronomical Unit (AU) is the recognised term for Earth-Sun distance?

    1. James Haley 2

      Re: Distance units

      El Reg readers know 1 AU better as 16,228,224,419 double deck buses.

  3. unwarranted triumphalism

    It's a good thing they've cured all diseases and sorted out climate change and the energy crisis, so they've got time to waste on this...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Because the last I heard, we basically had "odd-jobbing" scientists who could turn their hand to anything.

      "Hey Clive, astrophysics is looking a bit slow this week. Do you want to head on over to Heart Disease and see if they could do with some help?"

    2. Pen-y-gors

      As a species, I think we can generally multi-task (with some bright orange exceptions of course)

      1. unwarranted triumphalism

        Maybe we should solve the problems we have here instead of spending money elsewhere.

        1. Francis Boyle Silver badge

          I agree

          It shameful how we're outsourcing our jobs to the Centaurans when so many Earthlings don't have jobs*. MEGA (Make Earth Great Again)

          *This possibly might not be happening.

        2. Gene Cash Silver badge

          Actually, I think we should go back to clubbing each other with gazelle thighbones. This progress stuff isn't worth it.

          1. weegie38

            Even the trees were a bad move: no-one should ever have left the oceans.

    3. Primus Secundus Tertius

      @unwarranted t

      The biggest disease is that which makes people blind to the value of pure science. Yes, let us cure that one!

  4. Bronek Kozicki
    Alien

    oh well

    clearly the civilization which once occupied habitable planet(s) in this system blew it off one day, resulting in a mass of post-planetary rubble round their (late in development cycle) sun.

    1. Steve the Cynic

      Re: oh well

      "their (late in development cycle) sun"

      Proxima Centauri is a main-sequence red dwarf, with, according to the Unreliable Source, another four trillion years ahead of it. It is by no means whatsoever "late in development cycle".

      1. Bronek Kozicki
        Alien

        Re: oh well

        I stand corrected

  5. Tom Paine

    I hate to be "that guy", but...

    ...nah, actually I've just learned to live with the burden.

    Normally, when mass is heated by a star it emits radiation. When it's cool enough, though, it emits radio waves.

    Ahem..!!

    1. Tom 7

      Re: I hate to be "that guy", but...

      Ah that explains Radio 1.

    2. Scroticus Canis
      Trollface

      Re: I hate to be "that guy", but...

      ...he's not even on the spectrum*.

      Since when was Radio 1 ever considered cool (or even groovy)?

      * the electromagnetic one

  6. ThatOne Silver badge

    @ unwarranted triumphalism

    Do you yourself currently work in "curing all diseases, climate change or energy crisis"?

    1. Long John Brass
      Coat

      Do you yourself currently work in "curing all diseases, climate change or energy crisis"?

      Don't be silly. It's way easier to piss and moan from the sidelines. It's always easier to point out the flaws in a plan than come up with a workable alternative. It's always easier to tell other people they are working on the wrong thing and wasting their lives than do any of the heavy lifting yourself.

      /coat = I want off this mud ball.

    2. Pen-y-gors

      Think globally, act locally.

      Even picking up a bit of litter in the street makes the world a (slightly) better place.

      Inventing a mega-ray that makes all guns, bombs etc in the world turn to strawberry jelly at once would make the world a considerably better place. Yay research!

      1. Long John Brass

        strawberry jelly

        And the first guy with a board with a nail through it will become king :)

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