Are There Habitable Planets Orbiting Alpha Centauri?

In summary, the conversation discusses the likelihood of terrestrial sized rocky planets orbiting in the habitable zones of the Alpha Centauri system. Some argue that the system's trinary nature and unstable orbits make it unlikely to have hospitable worlds, while others point out that there is a stable zone that could potentially support planets. The conversation also mentions the difficulty of detecting planets in the system due to its proximity to our own and the methods used for detection.
  • #1
AA Institute
21
0
An article about the likely magnitudes and feasibility of terrestrial sized rocky planets orbiting in the habitable zones in the Alpha Centauri system:

(link removed)AA
http://www.publishedauthors.net/aa_spaceagent/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Astronomy news on Phys.org
  • #2
Are you trying to sell that book here or something? Looks like science fiction to me.
 
  • #3
But didn't the Robinsons already explore that area of space?
 
  • #4
Alpha Centauri is a trinary system. I dought you'll find any hospitible worlds there. The orbits are just to unstable.
 
  • #5
hypatia said:
But didn't the Robinsons already explore that area of space?

No, that's where they were headed, but they never actually got there because they became Lost in Space
 
  • #6
Entropy said:
Alpha Centauri is a trinary system. I dought you'll find any hospitible worlds there. The orbits are just to unstable.

Alpha Centuari A and B have a closest approach of about 11 AU. This means that both have a zone in which they could have stable planetary orbits that extends out to 2 AU from each star. Alpha Centauri C is too small and far away to have any significant effect on the stabilty of planets around the other two (In fact, it is not even clear whether C is even gravitationally bound to A and B)
 
  • #7
Alpha Centuari A and B have a closest approach of about 11 AU. This means that both have a zone in which they could have stable planetary orbits that extends out to 2 AU from each star.

Of course it is possible for stable orbits to exist, but it isn't that likely.
 
  • #8
You would have thought being the nearest star system to ours that we'd have found planets already.
 
  • #9
To support your statement.

I would say that the statement "One cannot see the forest for the trees" applies here.:biggrin:


FeynmanMH42 said:
You would have thought being the nearest star system to ours that we'd have found planets already.
 
  • #10
Have people looked for planets there? I would think we could have deteced planets if they were there.
 
  • #11
Alpha Centauri being closest star system doesn't really benefit the detection techniques. We're not trying to "see" the planets. We're trying to measure a doppler shift in a star's velocity caused by an orbiting planet.
 

1. What is Alpha Centauri?

Alpha Centauri is a star system located 4.37 light years away from Earth. It is the closest star system to our solar system and is made up of three stars: Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B, and Proxima Centauri.

2. Are there any planets around Alpha Centauri?

As of now, no confirmed planets have been discovered around Alpha Centauri A or B. However, a potentially habitable planet, Proxima Centauri b, was discovered orbiting Proxima Centauri in 2016.

3. Can we see these planets from Earth?

Due to the vast distance between Earth and Alpha Centauri, these planets cannot be seen with the naked eye. They can only be observed and studied using powerful telescopes and space probes.

4. Could there be life on these planets?

It is still unknown if there is life on any of the planets in the Alpha Centauri system. However, Proxima Centauri b has the potential to support life due to its location in the habitable zone and its Earth-like size.

5. Will we ever be able to visit these planets?

At the moment, the technology to travel to Alpha Centauri is not available. However, there are ongoing research and development efforts to create advanced propulsion systems and spacecraft that could potentially make a journey to Alpha Centauri possible in the future.

Similar threads

B The search for habitable exoplanets in Alpha Centauri
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
2
Views
2K
B Alpha Centauri Orbits to Scale?
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
2
Replies
47
Views
4K
And now for the latest news from Alpha Centauri
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
1
Views
1K
B Barnard's Star, 6 Light-Years Away, May Have Cold SuperEarth
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
8
Views
2K
B A terrestrial, temperate planet around Proxima Centauri
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
2
Replies
60
Views
10K
Planet Found Orbiting Alpha Centauri
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
31
Views
8K
I Questions on stars and planets: ratio of planet radius to star, distance between the two, temperature of a star and a planet, planet rotation speed
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
12
Views
1K
B Question about Preventing Tidal Locking around Red Dwarf Stars
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
2
Views
2K
I Inside The 24/7 Search For Another Habitable Planet Within 100 Ly
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
10
Views
1K
I Evidence for existence of a 9th Planet in the solar system
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
15
Views
1K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top