James Webb may have directly imaged a planet around Alpha Centauri A — the closest Sun-like star to Earth.
Then the object disappeared.
In August 2024, Webb detected a faint source more than 10,000 times dimmer than the star, roughly twice the Earth-Sun distance away and consistent with a gas giant around the mass of Saturn
But when astronomers returned in February and April 2025, it was gone.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the original detection was wrong. Orbital simulations suggest there is a significant chance the planet simply moved too close to the star’s glare for Webb to separate it.
Now NASA’s Roman Space Telescope carries a new coronagraph capable of looking at the same problem in visible light instead of infrared.
So is there really a planet around our nearest solar twin?
For the first time, we may have another way to find out.
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DISCUSSIONS & SOCIAL MEDIA
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00:00 Webb Saw Something Next Door
0:52 The Hardest Easy Target
3:12 How Webb Blocked the Star
5:32 Why This Planet Would Be Different
7:08 Then It Disappeared
9:02 The Telescope Built for This
10:46 What We Actually Know
12:05 When Will We Know?0:00 Webb Saw Something Next Door
0:52 The Hardest Easy Target
3:12 How Webb Blocked the Star
5:32 Why This Planet Would Be Different
7:08 Then It Disappeared
9:02 The Telescope Built for This
10:46 What We Actually Know
12:05 When Will We Know?
-- #insanecuriosity#webbtelescope#alphacentauri
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