Home / Science / Closest Exoplanet to Earth's Habitable Zone Discovered Around Alpha Centauri A
Closest Exoplanet to Earth's Habitable Zone Discovered Around Alpha Centauri A
8 Aug
Summary
- Astronomers find evidence of Jupiter-sized planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A
- Potential planet is at the edge of the habitable zone around the sunlike star
- Discovery made using NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope
Astronomers have uncovered compelling evidence of a Jupiter-sized exoplanet orbiting Alpha Centauri A, one of the three stars in the closest solar system to our own. The potential planet, detected through observations with NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope, would be the closest ever found within a sunlike star's habitable zone, the region where liquid water could potentially exist on a planet's surface.
While the planet itself is a gas giant and would not support life as we know it, its proximity to Alpha Centauri A, just four light-years from Earth, has excited astronomers and sci-fi enthusiasts alike. The discovery, announced in two papers accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, represents a significant step forward in the search for potentially habitable worlds around nearby stars.
To confirm the planet's existence, astronomers will need to observe it again, either with the Webb telescope or other powerful observatories like the upcoming Extremely Large Telescope and NASA's Roman Space Telescope. Direct imaging of exoplanets is challenging, but it provides valuable insights into their size, mass, temperature, and distance from their host stars—crucial information for assessing their potential habitability.
