New research suggests that Alpha Centauri could host a Super Jupiter in a stable orbit. The research into it has been done by Tinglong Feng, an undergraduate at Xi’an Jiaotong University in China. Feng took up the three-body problem which has been a cosmic issue. The problem causes gravitational interactions between the bodies causing instability, and making the movements of the three bodies extremely difficult to predict.&nbsp;

When a planet orbits two stars, it creates a three-body problem, but one that can also be called a “restricted three-body problem". Some potential stable orbits can exist in such a scenario for a planet.

Feng studied Centauri AB, the nearest binary neighbour to our world and tried to understand whether a super Jupiter can exist in the system and the orbit it might have.&nbsp;

“The three-body problem, which seeks stable orbit configurations among gravitating bodies, is a longstanding challenge in celestial mechanics,” Feng writes.&nbsp;

“As the closest triple stellar system to Earth, Alpha Centauri system has attracted diverse studies in astronomy, including exoplanet stability,” Feng writes.&nbsp;

Even though the entire Alpha Centauri system is a triple star system, the third star is far enough from Centauri AB to let them qualify as a binary system, Feng writes.

Feng compared the Centauri AB system with a similar star system named GJ65AB (Gliese 65) only about 8.8 light-years away from Earth. This star system is binary and hosts an exoplanet of the mass of Neptune. Feng says that despite Gliese 65 being a pair of M-dwarfs, the system “shares similar mass ratios and orbital eccentricities".&nbsp;He ran simulations of the Centauri AB system to get a clear picture of whether the system can host an exoplanet.

“The similarities between GJ65AB and Alpha Centauri AB, together with the newly detected stable super Neptune in the GJ65 system, suggest the stability of the corresponding potential super Jupiter in Alpha Centauri AB,” Feng writes.&nbsp;

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<h2>Gliese 65 and the Alpha Centauri AB systems</h2>

He theorises that if Gliese 65 and the Alpha Centauri AB systems are similar, and if GJ65 can host a planet in a stable orbit, can the same be true for Centauri AB?

He then went on to find stable orbits for a planet orbiting Centauri AB. Feng identified Centauri A as the primary star and placed a planet with the mass of 350 Earths at a distance of 23.336 AU, keeping others parameters similar to GJ65. “We figured out the stable zone spanning from 0.1 to ~ 2.2 au, and ranges from 0 to 0.5,” Feng writes.

“From this hypothesis, together with the newly detected Neptune-mass planet in the GJ65 system, which is similar to Alpha Centauri AB, we assume the existence of a potential Jupiter-mass planet with corresponding orbital parameters in Alpha Centauri AB should also be possible,” Feng writes.

So far, no planets have been found around Centauri AB, but Proxima Centauri, which lies near it, has two confirmed exoplanets. Notably, scientists have noticed signs of a planet being in Alpha Centauri A.

New research suggests that Alpha Centauri could host a Super Jupiter in a stable orbit. The research into it has been done by Tinglong Feng, an undergraduate at Xi’an Jiaotong University in China.

New research suggests that Alpha Centauri could host a Super Jupiter in a stable orbit. The research into it has been done by Tinglong Feng, an undergraduate at Xi’an Jiaotong University in China. Feng took up the three-body problem which has been a cosmic issue. The problem causes gravitational interactions between the bodies causing instability, and making the movements of the three bodies extremely difficult to predict. When a planet orbits two stars, it creates a three-body problem, but one that can also be called a “restricted three-body problem". Some potential stable orbits can exist in such a scenario for a planet. Feng studied Centauri AB, the nearest binary neighbour to our world and tried to understand whether a super Jupiter can exist in the system and the orbit it might have. “The three-body problem, which seeks stable orbit configurations among gravitating bodies, is a longstanding challenge in celestial mechanics,” Feng writes. “As the closest triple stellar system to Earth, Alpha Centauri system has attracted diverse studies in astronomy, including exoplanet stability,” Feng writes. Even though the entire Alpha Centauri system is a triple star system, the third star is far enough from Centauri AB to let them qualify as a binary system, Feng writes. Feng compared the Centauri AB system with a similar star system named GJ65AB (Gliese 65) only about 8.8 light-years away from Earth. This star system is binary and hosts an exoplanet of the mass of Neptune. Feng says that despite Gliese 65 being a pair of M-dwarfs, the system “shares similar mass ratios and orbital eccentricities". He ran simulations of the Centauri AB system to get a clear picture of whether the system can host an exoplanet. “The similarities between GJ65AB and Alpha Centauri AB, together with the newly detected stable super Neptune in the GJ65 system, suggest the stability of the corresponding potential super Jupiter in Alpha Centauri AB,” Feng writes. Also Read: Asteroid 2024 MT-1 makes extremely close approach to Earth Gliese 65 and the Alpha Centauri AB systems He theorises that if Gliese 65 and the Alpha Centauri AB systems are similar, and if GJ65 can host a planet in a stable orbit, can the same be true for Centauri AB? He then went on to find stable orbits for a planet orbiting Centauri AB. Feng identified Centauri A as the primary star and placed a planet with the mass of 350 Earths at a distance of 23.336 AU, keeping others parameters similar to GJ65. “We figured out the stable zone spanning from 0.1 to ~ 2.2 au, and ranges from 0 to 0.5,” Feng writes. “From this hypothesis, together with the newly detected Neptune-mass planet in the GJ65 system, which is similar to Alpha Centauri AB, we assume the existence of a potential Jupiter-mass planet with corresponding orbital parameters in Alpha Centauri AB should also be possible,” Feng writes. So far, no planets have been found around Centauri AB, but Proxima Centauri, which lies near it, has two confirmed exoplanets. Notably, scientists have noticed signs of a planet being in Alpha Centauri A.

Is the three-star system Alpha Centauri hosting a Super Jupiter?

A French scientist Etienne Klein shared a picture that claimed to be of a star taken from the James Webb telescope which actually turned out to be an image of a Spanish sausage, Chorizo. The picture was claimed to be of Proxima Centauri, star located away from the Sun in the southern constellation of Centaurus.

Scientist posts picture of sausage as a star claiming to be taken from James Webb telescope

There may be a new planet in our planet's neighbourhood just four lightyears away. A third planet has been detected orbiting Proxima Centauri, our sun's nearest star neighbour, at a distance of 25 trillion miles (40.2 trillion kilometres).

The red dwarf is just one eighth the mass of the sun and has already been confirmed to have an Earth-sized planet. A second, faraway planet is also possible.

Proxima d, the latest planet to be found, completes one orbit around the star every five Earth days.&nbsp;

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It is one of the lightest exoplanets ever discovered, with a mass of about a quarter of the Earth's. The discovery was described in a study published in <a href="https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2022/02/aa42337-21/aa42337-21.html">Astronomy &amp; Astrophysics</a>.

This planet is only 2.5 million miles (4 million kilometres) from the star, which is less than one-tenth as far as Mercury is from the sun in our solar system. The closest planet to the sun, Mercury orbits it every 88 days.

Proxima b, the first planet discovered in the system, was confirmed in 2020. It orbits the star every 11 days and is about the size of Earth. It is located within the habitable zone, or the distance from a star at which liquid water, the key ingredient for life, can exist on the planet's surface.

Another planet Proxima c is too far from the star to be in a habitable zone, and the newly discovered Proxima d is too nearby to be in the habitable zone.

João Faria, a researcher at Portugal's Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences and the lead study author, says the finding indicates that our nearest stellar neighbour contains a wide variety of interesting new worlds that could be explored in the future.

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Proxima d was discovered using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Astronomers used the observatory's telescopes and instruments to find and confirm past discoveries of planets in the Proxima Centauri system.

Scientists recently observed a weak signal from a fast orbiting object close to the star during follow-up observations.

ESPRESSO, or the highly sensitive Echelle Spectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations instrument on the VLT, was used to conduct more observations.

The data suggested there was a planet present, and that its gravitational pull was tugging on the star.

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According to Faria, after obtaining new observations, they were able to confirm the signal as a new planet candidate. Detecting a signal so small was an exciting challenge for him, and discovering an exoplanet so close to Earth made it even more exciting.

Proxima d's future observations could confirm that it is in fact the third planet seen orbiting this star. Researchers believe that future observations may reveal even more details about the system, or even additional planets.

There may be a new planet in our planet's neighbourhood just four lightyears away. A third planet has been detected orbiting Proxima Centauri, our sun's nearest star neighbour, at a distance of 25 trillion miles (40.

There may be a new planet in our planet's neighbourhood just four lightyears away. A third planet has been detected orbiting Proxima Centauri, our sun's nearest star neighbour, at a distance of 25 trillion miles (40.2 trillion kilometres). The red dwarf is just one eighth the mass of the sun and has already been confirmed to have an Earth-sized planet. A second, faraway planet is also possible. Proxima d, the latest planet to be found, completes one orbit around the star every five Earth days. Also read | Did we, the modern humans, kill off Neanderthals? A new finding may have answers It is one of the lightest exoplanets ever discovered, with a mass of about a quarter of the Earth's. The discovery was described in a study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. This planet is only 2.5 million miles (4 million kilometres) from the star, which is less than one-tenth as far as Mercury is from the sun in our solar system. The closest planet to the sun, Mercury orbits it every 88 days. Proxima b, the first planet discovered in the system, was confirmed in 2020. It orbits the star every 11 days and is about the size of Earth. It is located within the habitable zone, or the distance from a star at which liquid water, the key ingredient for life, can exist on the planet's surface. Another planet Proxima c is too far from the star to be in a habitable zone, and the newly discovered Proxima d is too nearby to be in the habitable zone. João Faria, a researcher at Portugal's Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences and the lead study author, says the finding indicates that our nearest stellar neighbour contains a wide variety of interesting new worlds that could be explored in the future. Also read | NASA releases pictures of Venus’s surface taken by Parker Solar Probe in new light Proxima d was discovered using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Astronomers used the observatory's telescopes and instruments to find and confirm past discoveries of planets in the Proxima Centauri system. Scientists recently observed a weak signal from a fast orbiting object close to the star during follow-up observations. ESPRESSO, or the highly sensitive Echelle Spectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations instrument on the VLT, was used to conduct more observations. The data suggested there was a planet present, and that its gravitational pull was tugging on the star. Watch | What is Geomagnetic storm, which destroyed 40 SpaceX satellites? According to Faria, after obtaining new observations, they were able to confirm the signal as a new planet candidate. Detecting a signal so small was an exciting challenge for him, and discovering an exoplanet so close to Earth made it even more exciting. Proxima d's future observations could confirm that it is in fact the third planet seen orbiting this star. Researchers believe that future observations may reveal even more details about the system, or even additional planets.

We have a new neighbour! Scientists discover a new planet near our solar system

Astronomers have confirmed the existence of Proxima b, an Earth-size exoplanet orbiting the closest star to the&nbsp;sun.

The researchers determined that Proxima b is 1.17 times the mass of Earth and completes an orbit around its star, Proxima Centauri, every 11.2 Earth days.

The star, Proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light-years from the&nbsp;sun. Previously, scientists using the HARPS measurements said it was 1.3 Earth masses.

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"Proxima b is a very special guy among all the known exoplanets: the closest exoplanet there will ever be to us, terrestrial in size, and within the habitable zone," said Christophe Lovis, study coauthor and researcher in the University of Geneva's astronomy department.

"In spite of the clear detection achieved by HARPS in 2016, it was necessary to have an independent confirmation from the new and much more powerful ESPRESSO, to lift any remaining doubts there could have been.

The study results were published last week in the journal Astronomy and&nbsp;Astrophysics.

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Proxima b is 20 times closer to its star than Earth is to the sun. Proxima Centauri is a low-mass red dwarf star, which means that even though the planet is close to the star, it receives similar energy that Earth does from the sun.

Proxima b is located within the habitable zone of its star, meaning that liquid water, and the suggestion of life, may be possible on the planet's surface.

However, Proxima Centauri is an active star that lashes the planet with X-rays, 400 times more than Earth receives from the sun. This could impact the chances for water and life on the planet.

The data from ESPRESSO also revealed a second signal hinting at the existence of more planets in our solar system, although the researchers weren't able to definitively detect what caused it.

The signal "may be caused by a planet just 30 per cent&nbsp;the mass of the Earth, which was completely undetectable before," Lovis said. This would make it the smallest planet ever measured using the radial velocity method.

Astronomers have confirmed the existence of Proxima b, an Earth-size exoplanet orbiting the closest star to the sun. The researchers determined that Proxima b is 1.

Astronomers have confirmed the existence of Proxima b, an Earth-size exoplanet orbiting the closest star to the sun. The researchers determined that Proxima b is 1.17 times the mass of Earth and completes an orbit around its star, Proxima Centauri, every 11.2 Earth days. The star, Proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light-years from the sun. Previously, scientists using the HARPS measurements said it was 1.3 Earth masses. Also read: Scientists capture stunning image revealing birth of a new planet "Proxima b is a very special guy among all the known exoplanets: the closest exoplanet there will ever be to us, terrestrial in size, and within the habitable zone," said Christophe Lovis, study coauthor and researcher in the University of Geneva's astronomy department. "In spite of the clear detection achieved by HARPS in 2016, it was necessary to have an independent confirmation from the new and much more powerful ESPRESSO, to lift any remaining doubts there could have been. The study results were published last week in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. Proxima b is 20 times closer to its star than Earth is to the sun. Proxima Centauri is a low-mass red dwarf star, which means that even though the planet is close to the star, it receives similar energy that Earth does from the sun. Proxima b is located within the habitable zone of its star, meaning that liquid water, and the suggestion of life, may be possible on the planet's surface. However, Proxima Centauri is an active star that lashes the planet with X-rays, 400 times more than Earth receives from the sun. This could impact the chances for water and life on the planet. The data from ESPRESSO also revealed a second signal hinting at the existence of more planets in our solar system, although the researchers weren't able to definitively detect what caused it. The signal "may be caused by a planet just 30 per cent the mass of the Earth, which was completely undetectable before," Lovis said. This would make it the smallest planet ever measured using the radial velocity method.

Astronomers confirm existence of an Earth-size exoplanet