I wish I could remember the source post, But memory will have to suffice. The person wanted to know if Alpha Centauri 1 could have a habitable planet orbiting it. He was writing a fictional story and wanted to be scientifically accurate. The first reply said that the gravitational forces would pull it apart. While the second suggested that the third star would solve that problem but was too dim to support life. I'd like to address the latter first.

If the orbit were closer to the star than earth norm, wouldn't that compensate for the dimness of that star?

As to the first, Since most people tend to think of These systems on the same plane (horzontal), A planet orbiting BETWEEN the stars would probably be doomed. What if planet orbited on an other plane (vertical) that was perpendicular to the norm. Might such a planet be habitable? Now I realze that this would be highly unlikely but, a rogue planet captured by the star's gravity could be possibile. Thank you

• Re: In march 97 Someone here said that Alpha Centauri couldn't have a habitable planet - Koichi_Ito/">Koichi Ito - April 19, 1999 - 17:24 UTC