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Join astronomers Franck Marchis (SETI Institute) and Julien Girard (Space Telescope Science Institute) for a 30-minute live discussion unpacking NASA’s exciting new findings from JWST. Just announced, JWST has revealed strong evidence of a Saturn-mass gas giant orbiting Alpha Centauri A—the Sun’s nearest solar twin—located just 4 light-years away. The planet appears to orbit at about 1 to 2 AU, placing it within the star’s habitable zone, though as a gas giant, it's not likely habitable itself.
During the livestream, Franck and Julien will:
- Break down the observations and techniques—particularly the use of JWST's MIRI coronagraph to suppress starlight and reveal faint planetary signals.
- Explore orbital dynamics, including why the candidate may have "vanished" from view in subsequent observations due to its motion in an elliptical orbit.
- Discuss the implications for exoplanet imaging, especially the milestone of potentially imaging the closest gas giant in a habitable zone around a Sun-like star.
- Consider what’s next: follow-up observations in 2026–2027 and the potential for confirmation and further study.
Whether you follow exoplanet discovery, telescope technology, or just cosmic curiosities, this session promises a front-row seat to one of the most exciting Webb discoveries to date.
Press release: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-webb-finds-new-evidence-for-planet-around-closest-solar-twin/
Papers: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03814, https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03812
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