New search for habitable planet in earth’s backyard

Australian astronomers are one step closer to finding a planet capable of sustaining human life, and it could be orbiting Earth’s closest neighbour.

Australian astronomers are a step closer to finding a planet capable of sustaining human life, and it could be right in Earth’s backyard.

A new proposed telescope project launched on Tuesday by the University of Sydney will look for planets in the “Goldilocks” zone of the Alpha Centauri star system, where temperatures could allow for liquid surface water to exist.

Alpha Centauri is just four light years away, and is Earth’s closest neighbouring star system.

“What we are looking for is a planet orbiting around Alpha Centauri … the holy grail of planet research,” project leader Peter Tuthill from the Sydney Institute for Astronomy at the University of Sydney said. “To find a Sun-like star that hosts a planet like the Earth will mean we know it may be able to deliver life.”

The closest star system to the Earth is the famous Alpha Centauri group.

Alpha Centauri is a triple star with two stars like our Sun. Either or both may host temperate planets, while the third star, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, is already believed to have one planet in a “Goldilocks orbit” – not too near, and not too far away.

Work on the project, named the TOLIMAN mission, began in April with scientists from the university working with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“Getting to know our planetary neighbours is hugely important,” Professor Tuthill said. “These next-door planets are the ones where we have the best prospects for finding and analysing atmospheres, surface chemistry and possibly even the fingerprints of a biosphere – tentative signs of life.”

Professor Peter Tuthill from the Sydney Institute for Astronomy at the University of Sydney

The research team will spend the next couple of years collecting parts of the TOLIMAN telescope to launch it into space in 2023.

“After it’s launched, we’ll need a couple of years worth of data in orbit to find the answer to the question: is there a planet in orbit around Alpha Centauri?” he said.

The project has received support from the Breakthrough Initiatives, a suite of scientific and technological programs engaged in the search for extraterrestrial life. It was founded by Israeli science and technology investor and philanthropist Yuri Milner.

The earth's nearest star, Alpha Centauri.