New observational evidence from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which has yet to launch, may change that. JWST astronomers have found tantalising hints of an orbiting gas giant around Alpha Centauri A, the closest Sun-like star to us. Located just four light-years away in the Alpha Centauri triple-star system, the potential planet sits within the star’s habitable zone — the region where liquid water could exist — but its gas giant nature makes it inhospitable to life. Even so, its location and distinctiveness make the detection among the most captivating detections in exoplanetary exploration prior.

JWST Unveils Possible Closest Sun-Like Star Exoplanet, Awaiting Confirmation

According to a NASA report, this was done with the JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) using a coronagraphic mask to block out stellar glare. This method caught sight of an object which is almost 10,000 times fainter than Alpha Centauri A and at a separation of around two astronomical units. If upheld, it would be the nearest exoplanet to a similar being ever pictured and, moreover, the first healthy globe discovered in direct significance.

Researchers noted that while Alpha Centauri already hosts two confirmed planets around the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, no planet has yet been confirmed around Alpha Centauri A. Follow-up JWST observations did not capture the planet again, possibly because it was too close to the star during the imaging. Computer simulations support this possibility.

The team wants to look for more evidence using both JWST and the yet-to-be-launched Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, due in May 2027. Confirmation would represent a watershed moment in planetary system science, where astronomers are looking into embryonic solar systems around other stars.

Researchers said the potential planet’s existence in such a dynamic binary star system could challenge current models of planetary formation and survival. Two papers detailing the findings have been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole yet, an ancient quasar more than 13 billion light years from our own Earth, incredibly close to the limit of where scientists even expect supermassive black holes to form. The cosmic behemoth of a galaxy, known as CAPERS-LRD-z9, provides a wide-window echo back in time to one of the furthest peeks into our early universe yet, only shortly after the Big Bang, when our cosmos was a fraction (3%) of its current age. Now, researchers led by those in The University of Texas at Austin’s Cosmic Frontier team have found what are likely very powerful gas outflows and also evidence that some of the very first black holes were born much, much heavier than previously believed.

Early Black Hole Found in ‘Little Red Dot’ Galaxy Challenges Growth Models

According to a study published in The Astrophysical Journal this week, researchers led by those at The University of Texas at Austin’s Cosmic Frontier team are announcing they have made the most sensitive measurements to date less than a billion years after the Big Bang, and these neonatal black holes were producing gas outflows fast enough — and over a long enough period — to halt stars forming in surrounding galaxies.

More recently discovered, the Little Red Dots galaxy appears to be just the sort of ominous-sounding crimson that would shoot a vibrant deep red due to intense radiation taking place among giant black holes and gas clouds.

A little galaxy of mass in all that more than enough of less, those hundreds of millions of suns among which all those stars are caught. This, in turn, birthed the supermassive galactic monsters — either quickly overcooked giants or premature sizes.

JWST high-z key science theme & imaging science exposure for mapping the process of supermassive black hole formation, growth, and evolution at high spatial detail.

The process of Greenland’s ice sheet melting is not only raising sea levels, it is also feeding life in the ocean. As the most productive for marine life, phytoplankton harvesting energy from this nutrient-filled climate change is altering how this biological pump works in these warming ares. In a new study, scientists employed cutting-edge computer models to simulate the intricate movements of ice melt and seawater with ocean currents and marine biology behaviour finnesing adding more detail to an understanding of these unseen forces between Earth’s shifting polar zones.

Glacial Melt Fuels a Surge in Ocean Life

According to precious study, each summer Jakobshavn Glacier releases more than 300,000 gallons of freshwater per second into the sea. This less-dense meltwater shoots upward through heavier, salty seawater, dragging deep-sea nutrients—like iron and nitrate—toward the sunlit surface. These nutrients are essential for phytoplankton, which are the foundation of the ocean food chain.

In recent decades, NASA satellite data recorded a 57% surge in Arctic phytoplankton, and scientists now have a clearer picture of why. The nutrient boost is especially crucial in late summer, when spring blooms have already depleted surface waters. Without direct access to such remote regions, researchers had long struggled to test the nutrient-plume hypothesis—until now.

NASA’s Digital Ocean Brings Clarity Beneath the Ice

To simulate the chaotic waters of Greenland’s fjords, researchers used the ECCO-Darwin model, developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and MIT. Fueled by billions of ocean measurements—temperature, salinity, pressure—this model replicates how biology, chemistry, and physics interact. Using NASA’s supercomputers at Ames Research Center, the team calculated a 15–40% increase in phytoplankton growth from glacial nutrients.

Yet more change looms: as melting accelerates, seawater may lose its ability to absorb CO₂ even as plankton pull more of it in. “Like a Swiss Army knife,” said researcher Michael Wood, “this model helps us explore ecosystems far beyond Greenland.”