Alpha Centauri is very unique in that it is the closest system to our own sun (4.35 ly) and contains two sun like stars in a binary pair. According to this website,

 

http://homepage.sunrise.ch/homepage/schatzer/Alpha-Centauri.html

 

it is possible for planets to exist within 2 AUs of both stars. This distance also allows for planets to exist within both star's habital zone.

 

Do we not currently have the technology to see if there are actually planets orbiting these stars? I always assumed the VLT interferometric array in Chile would be capable of doing the job.

Only one of the centauri stars is sun like, the other is smaller and colder, and proxima is a red dwarf.

 

If we could see, I would have though we would have looked there already, but I don't know.

The VLT interferometric array did in fact look at the centauri system, but it wasnt for planets. It did take this nice pic though.

How can something be "very unique?"

How can something be "very unique?"

 

Sorry it should have read double plus unique.

Lol, good answer.

 

I think he was reffering to the point that unique means one of a kind, and you can't really have something that is more or less one of a kind, it either is or isnt.

Somthing about Alpha Centauri has always intrigued me. Alpha Centuri A is a G2 type star and B is a K1 type star; they orbit each other every 80 years if I remember correctly. While A is the same spectral type as our sun, B is a colder star but well within the threshold of being able to support liquid water on a orbiting planet. I read a book by Isaac Asimov a while back which stated that both stars could support planets within the orbit of Jupiter; outside of that, they couldn't maintain a circurlar orbit due to the gravitaional pull of the second sun.

 

Proxima Centaui is not a close companion of the other 2 stars and cannot support life as we know it. There have also been disputes as whether or not it is a part of the Centauri system due to it's distance from the other 2.

 

Quick Edit...

 

It's difficult to detect planets in the system due to the binary stars. To date all planets have been discovered due to their gravitational force causing their star to wobble. Since binary stars cause themselves wobble, it's hard to detect a planetary gravitational influence.

 

Oh my, I'm a UBER nerd.