Posted on 12/20/2017 1:38:53 PM PST by Simon Green
There may be small, rocky planets in the nearby Alpha Centauri triple-star system that have been overlooked, according to a new study published in the Astronomical Journal
Alpha Centauri, also known as Rigil Kentaurus, Rigil Kent and Gliese 559, is the closest stellar system to Earth.
This triple system is made up of the bright binary star formed by Alpha Centauri A and B, plus the faint red dwarf star Alpha Centauri C.
The two brighter components are roughly 4.35 light-years away from us. Alpha Centauri C, better known as Proxima Centauri, is slightly closer, at 4.23 light-years.
Compared to our Sun, Alpha Centauri A is of the same stellar type G2, but slightly bigger. Alpha Centauri B, a K1-type star, is slightly smaller and less bright.
Alpha Centauri A and B orbit a common center of gravity once every 80 years, with a minimum distance of about 11 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
Last year, the discovery of Proxima b, an Earth-like planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, set off a new wave of scientific and public interest in this triple-star system.
“Because Alpha Centauri is so close, it is our first stop outside our Solar System,” said Yale University’s Professor Debra Fischer, co-author of the study.
“There’s almost certain to be small, rocky planets around Alpha Centauri A and B.”
The findings are based on data coming in from a new wave of more advanced spectrographic instruments at observatories located in Chile: (i) CTIO High Resolution Spectrograph (CHIRON), a spectrograph built by Professor Fischer and colleagues; (ii) High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), built by a team from Switzerland; and (iii) Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES), part of ESO’s Very Large Telescope Array.
(Excerpt) Read more at sci-news.com ...
Ping.
I didn't even know I had any planets!
A periapsis of only 11 AU’s between to sun-like stars is unlikely to have any planets with stable orbits, unless they are in resonance with the suns’ orbits. There will be no Pandoras, at least. We’ll have to get our unobtanium somewhere else.
Thanks. Serious stuff.
Thanks Simon Green.
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