First Planet Discovered in Alpha Centauri System Information on
the Discovery, and also Insights from Debra Fischer Posted By
Bruce Betts 2012/10/17 07:22 CDT Using more than four years of
data, astronomers using the HARPS instrument on the 3.6-meter
telescope at ESO’s (European Southern Observatory) La Silla
Observatory in Chile have reported the discovery of a slightly
larger than Earth-mass planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri
B. This is the first discovery of a planet in our closest
neighbor system of stars, and the least massive exoplanet ever
discovered around a star like the Sun. I wanted to share with
you some thoughts and insights by Yale astronomer Debra Fischer
who leads another Alpha Centauri planet search that is partially
supported by The Planetary Society. But first, here is a little
more on the discovery (and if you are looking for a primer on
exoplanet hunting, check out our online astronomy course lecture
on the subject). The planet would be crispy, toasty hot (not a
technical term), at l