US Edition
JWST and Orbit Models Bolster Gas Giant Candidate in Alpha Centauri A's Habitable Zone
ALPHA CENTAURI STAR SYSTEM, AUG 8 – The candidate gas giant orbits within Alpha Centauri A's habitable zone but is unlikely to support life; follow-up JWST observations in 2025 failed to re-detect it, consistent with orbital simulations.
- In 2025, a team led by Aniket Sanghi and Charles Beichman identified a potential gas giant with a mass similar to Saturn, located in orbit around Alpha Centauri A.
- They based the discovery on challenging observations by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope using the MIRI instrument, with findings presented in two companion papers.
- The candidate planet is located within the region around Alpha Centauri A—the nearest sunlike star system to Earth at approximately 4.3 light-years—where conditions could allow liquid water, making it the closest planet directly observed orbiting its host star.
- Sanghi noted that if verified, the candidate planet identified in the Webb observations of Alpha Centauri A would represent a significant advancement in the field of exoplanet imaging, although subsequent JWST attempts in 2025 were unable to detect it, likely due to its orbit bringing it too close to the star.
- Confirmation would challenge current models of planet formation around close binary stars, but as a gas giant its atmosphere likely cannot support life as we know it.
45 Articles
45 Articles
New giant planet found in our nearest star system - and it could support life - The Mirror
NASA scientists say the new planet orbits in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star in the Alpha Centauri stellar system - and it could have moons with the potential to support life
Possible Planet Is Spotted Around Neighboring Alpha Centauri Star
Alpha Centauri has gripped the imaginations of sci-fi aficionados for decades. Only four light-years from Earth, the three-star system inspires fictional alien worlds and journeys through interstellar space. Its proximity also makes it alluring for astronomers, including a team that, on Thursday, provided the strongest evidence yet that a planet circles one of Alpha Centauri’s sunlike stars. The world is at the very edge of the region around the…
'The most significant JWST finding to date': James Webb spots — then loses — a giant planet orbiting in the habitable zone of our closest sun-like star
Alpha Centauri may have a "disappearing planet', new James Webb Space Telescope observations hint. If confirmed, it could be the closest alien planet to Earth that orbits in its star's habitable zone.
A planet of Jupiter's size could circle around the fourth brightest star in the sky. This could be a setback for the search for potentially habitable worlds.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
