Earth-sized planet discovered in Alpha Centauri

Astronomers at the University of Geneva in Switzerland have confirmed the discovery of an Earth-sized planet in the Alpha Centauri system, our galactic neighbour and former home of the Transformers.

What does this have to do with games? Technically nothing (unless you count the historical drama turned third-person shooter, War for Cybertron), but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from games, it’s that hostile alien invasions inevitably follow humans poking around in space, and preparation for that eventuality is important too.

James: Let’s not forget 1999’s fantastic space colonisation sim from Sid Meier, Alpha Centauri – a game that taught me that colonising alien planets will inevitably raise the turn-based ire of the local fungus.

The planet, Alpha Centauri Bb, is more or less the same size as Earth, but its close proximity to the K-type dwarf star Alpha Centauri B means its surface is probably composed almost entirely of molten lava, with an average temperature of around 1,200 degrees Celsius. So, basically, it’s like Thailand.

The Alpha Centauri system is about 4.4 light years away, or 40,000 regular years in current rocket propulsion technology, so we won’t be seeing any cheap holiday package deal in the near future. In the meantime, I’d suggest changing your lava monster threat status to orange.