Astronomers may have identified a giant planet sitting in the habitable zone of a star roughly 140 light-years from Earth, according to Moneycontrol.com. The candidate world orbits a star described as far larger and hotter than our Sun, making it the most massive and warmest star yet tied to a possible habitable-zone planet, the outlet reported.
The finding rests on stellar pulsations, the subtle brightness changes a star undergoes as it oscillates. AAS Nova, cited in the same coverage, reported that these pulsations suggest a habitable-zone planet around a massive star. ScienceAlert framed the result as a possible planet in the habitable zone of the hottest star found so far in such a search.
The habitable zone is the band of orbital distance where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface, given the right conditions. That label does not confirm a planet is habitable, only that its orbit falls in a range where temperatures might allow it. The reports describe a giant planet, not an Earth-sized one, and the detection is presented as a candidate rather than a confirmed world.
Coverage of the result appeared across several outlets, including Moneycontrol.com, ScienceAlert, AAS Nova, the New York Post and Inshorts, all pointing to the same underlying claim about a distant, massive host star.
What to watch next: whether follow-up observations confirm the planet and pin down its mass and orbit.
