Due to the lapse in federal government funding, NASA is not updating this website.

Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

Alpha Centauri 3 Panel (Webb MIRI Image Detail)

Three panels, each showing a different view of the binary star system Alpha Centauri from the Webb. The left panel shows a rectangular image tilted at a 45 degree angle outlined in white on a grey background. The image is a blown-out bright source at the center, with 8, double columned reddish white diffraction spikes. The center of this bright source is outlined with a vertical box, tilted slightly to the left, with two diagonal lines leading to the second panel. This shows a view of both Alpha Centauri A at the bottom and Alpha Centauri B at the top, both with orange star icons over each star. The star icons are surrounded by mottled red and white blotches. The bottom star is outlined with a white square with two diagonal lines leading to the third panel. Within a large white circle there is a blurry red-toned field with an orange star icon and central black circle outlined in white marking the location of Alpha Cen A. A bright orange blob at 9 o’clock in relation to the star is labeled “S1” and circled.

This three-panel image captures NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s observational search for a planet around the nearest Sun-like star, Alpha Centauri A. The initial image shows the bright glare of Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B, and the middle panel then shows the system with a coronagraphic mask placed over Alpha Centauri A to block its bright glare. However, the way the light bends around the edges of the coronagraph creates ripples of light in the surrounding space. The telescope’s optics (its mirrors and support structures) cause some light to interfere with itself, producing circular and spoke-like patterns. These complex light patterns, along with light from the nearby Alpha Centauri B, make it incredibly difficult to spot faint planets. In the panel at the right, astronomers have subtracted the known patterns (using reference images and algorithms) to clean up the image and reveal faint sources like the candidate planet. 

Read the full story.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    14:39:37.08
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -60:48:56.29
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Centaurus
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    4 light-years

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    This image was created with Webb data from proposal: 1618 (C. Beichman). Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    MIRI
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    July-August, 2024
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F1000W, F1500C
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Alpha Centauri AB
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Binary star system
  • Release Date
    August 7, 2025
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Finds New Evidence for Planet Around Closest Solar Twin
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, CSA, Aniket Sanghi (Caltech), Charles Beichman (NExScI, NASA/JPL-Caltech), Dimitri Mawet (Caltech); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Display), 5037 × 1800
    jpg (1.14 MB)
  • Full Res (For Print), 5037 × 1800
    tif (5.16 MB)
  • 2000 × 715
    jpg (315.26 KB)
Three panels, each showing a different view of the binary star system Alpha Centauri from the Webb. The left panel shows a rectangular image tilted at a 45 degree angle outlined in white on a grey background. The image is a blown-out bright source at the center, with 8, double columned reddish white diffraction spikes. The center of this bright source is outlined with a vertical box, tilted slightly to the left, with two diagonal lines leading to the second panel. This shows a view of both Alpha Centauri A at the bottom and Alpha Centauri B at the top, both with orange star icons over each star. The star icons are surrounded by mottled red and white blotches. The bottom star is outlined with a white square with two diagonal lines leading to the third panel. Within a large white circle there is a blurry red-toned field with an orange star icon and central black circle outlined in white marking the location of Alpha Cen A. A bright orange blob at 9 o’clock in relation to the star is labeled “S1” and circled.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images were acquired by the MIRI instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. The color results from assigning a warm/red color map to a monochromatic (grayscale) image.

Related Images & Videos

Three panels, each showing a different view of the binary star system Alpha Centauri. The panel at the left is a Digitized Sky Survey image showing a single bright point source at the center of a black image with small stars scattered throughout. The very center of this bright source is outlined with a vertical box, tilted slightly to the left, with two diagonal lines leading to the second panel. The Hubble Space Telescope image shows two white stars with 4 diffraction spikes each against a black background. The top star is labeled Alpha Cen B and the bottom Alpha Cen A. Alpha Cen A is outlined with a white square with two diagonal lines leading to the third panel at the furthest right, which shows a James Webb Space Telescope image of the star. Within a large white circle there is a blurry red-toned field with an orange star icon and central black circle outlined in white marking the location of Alpha Cen A. A bright orange blob at 9 o’clock in relation to the star is labeled “S1” and circled.

Alpha Centauri 3 Panel (DSS, Hubble, Webb)

This image shows the Alpha Centauri star system from several different ground- and space-based observatories: the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Alpha Centauri A is the closest Sun-like star to Earth.

Illustration of a large spherical object that looks like a gas giant planet. The object appears to have bands of tan, orange, and dark red horizontal lines forming patterns similar to those in the atmosphere of Jupiter. The background is filled with thousands of distant stars that form a Milky Way-like band running from left to right. The host star, Alpha Centauri A, appears as a glowing white circle to the upper left of the planet. Further off in the distance above and to the right of the planet is a smaller glowing circle, nearby Alpha Centauri B. The words “Artist’s Concept” are in the lower left corner.

Alpha Centauri A Planet Candidate (Artist's Concept)

This artist’s concept shows what the gas giant orbiting Alpha Centauri A could look like based on observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

Share

Details

Last Updated
Sep 04, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Science Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, Aniket Sanghi (Caltech), Charles Beichman (NExScI, NASA/JPL-Caltech), Dimitri Mawet (Caltech)

Image Processing Credit

Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

Space Telescope

Science Overview

Webb Observatory

Webb Image Galleries