It seems that our closest stellar neighbor may not be as unfavorable to life as previously thought.
NASA's Chandra Space Telescope has found that planets orbiting the Alpha Centauri star system, which is located just 4 light years from Earth, have a higher chance of supporting life than scientists thought.
Researchers have always believed that Alpha Centauri is the system that has the highest chances of being habitable outside the solar system. But the strong X-ray radiation from the three stars reduces the likelihood of life on the planets in the system to nearly zero.
However, the data obtained by the Chandra telescope suggests that this is not the case. Two stars in the system called Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B emit X-ray radiation in the same volume as our Sun.
“This is very good news for Alpha Centauri AB regarding the possibility of life on the planets that revolve around these stars,” says astrophysicist Tom Ayres. "Chandra shows us that life there can have a chance to win."
However, at the moment, this is nothing more than a hypothesis. Scientists have yet to find planets orbiting AB. It is also important to learn about the conditions around these stars.
Observing emissions of X-ray radiation is one of the most important aspects of determining whether a stellar system can support life. Therefore, since 2005, Chandra has been closely monitoring the two main stars of Alpha Centauri.
Since the orbits of A and B are close to each other, scientists believed that the radiation from the stars was so strong that it would destroy the integrity of any planetary atmosphere that could support life.
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But since the system's X-ray radiation is weaker than expected, this means there is hope for life. The third star of Alpha Centauri, known as Alpha Centauri C, or Proxima, is likely lifeless. Proxima is a red dwarf known for producing a huge amount of X-ray radiation - 50,000 times more than we receive on Earth.
So far, NASA has only found one planet, roughly the size of the Earth, orbiting Proxima, but the search continues.