Gas giant may orbit Alpha Centauri

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC)

Alpha Centauri, part of the three-star system closet to our own, is often posed in science fiction as humanity's first hop into the beyond—or perhaps its first meeting of the minds with alien intelligences. For the first time, scientists have strong evidence that Alpha Centauri A has a planet in orbit…