Santiago, Jan 18 (EFE).– International astronomers in Chile on Monday began a hunt for an Earthlike exoplanet, focusing their efforts on the closest star to the Solar System, Proxima Centauri, using the 3.6-meter La Silla telescope at the European Southern Observatory in the Atacama desert.

The observatory is located at an altitude of 2,400 meters (about 7,900 feet) in the Coquimbo region, 600 kilometers (372 miles) north of Santiago, and is participating in the Pale Red Dot project, whereby the public can follow how science is done in modern observatories.

Astronomers will gather data on the red dwarf star located 4.2 light-years (about 25 trillion miles) from Earth hoping to find tiny “wobbles” in its motion caused by an orbiting planet.

According to researchers, the study will help to establish whether or not there is a planet located in the star’s “habitable zone” – the region around the star where life could exist – and whether it has other Earthlike characteristics, such as an atmosphere.

“If our expectations are confirmed, that place will be the next-best site to look for extraterrestrial life,” said University of Chile astronomer James Jenkins in a documentary.

Previous observations have turned up indications of a small companion orbiting Proxima Centauri, and this is the main reason for the project, which will run through the first week of April.

It is expected that the scientific results obtained will be available to the public by the end of this year.

The planet hunt will be documented with daily posts on the social networks but the outcome is as yet uncertain.

The data gathered will be complimented with images provided by robotic telescopes located all around the world. EFE