Planet Found Orbiting Alpha Centauri

[mfb]

With a distance of 1/2 of the star separation, you don't get stable orbits around a single star. I think I read something about of 1/7 of the star separation for stable (and nearly circular) orbits.

Gas giant with close orbits should be possible due to orbital mechanics, but I think they would have been visible in the radial velocity measurements (did not check the numbers).

 

[sophiecentaur]

My complaint was not that the public should be interested in different things, but that the media misrepresent the science that is being done, what avenues of inquiry are being pursued, what questions are of interest, and the significance of a given finding in the broader context of the field.

Not only are extrasolar planets the branch of astronomy towards which I'm least inclined, but I think I've also just been oversaturated with exoplanet talks and media hype surrounding "discoveries" that just involve the results of applying the same observational technique over and over again. I don't want to see another light curve, or to hear about one particular object that somehow managed to serve as an excuse for a whole paper.

Man. You really can't be too surprised about that! Science and the Media is the serious. on-going scandal of our times.