Rocky planet orbiting one of our stellar neighbours
This alien world was discovered by European astronomers using the record-breaking HARPS
Science • October 2012 • Views: 1,274
An artist’s impression of the newly discovered planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B. The star’s binary companion, Alpha Centauri A, is seen at lower left, while the Sun is the bright star at upper right. Image: ESO/L Calcada/N Risinger (skysurvey.org).
A rocky exoplanet the size of Earth has been unveiled in the closest star system to the Sun, the Alpha Centauri triple system, just 4.3 light years away. The planet, found by the HARPS instrument at the European Southern Observatory, is too close to its star for life but the discovery – hailed as the greatest since the first exoplanets were discovered 20 years ago – tantalisingly hints at the possibility of a planet existing in the habitable zone.