Modelling Suggests Nearby Binary 70 Ophiuchi Could Host Earth-Sized Planet
UC Riverside astronomers say a modelled orbit around one of 70 Ophiuchi's two stars could sustain an Earth-sized world where liquid water persists, but no planet has been detected.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, said on 29 September 2026 that they had modelled a nearby binary star system and concluded it could potentially support an Earth-sized planet in a habitable-zone orbit. The result is a modelling finding, not a detection: no planet has yet been found orbiting either star of the pair.
The system used as their model was 70 Ophiuchi, which one account places about 16 light-years away; a Spanish-language report describes it as roughly five parsecs from Earth. Both stars are a bit smaller and cooler than the sun. The work examined the complex orbital dynamics of two-star environments, concluding that a stable orbit could feasibly exist around one of the two stars, in a region where liquid water is capable of persisting.
The Spanish-language account reports the study as published in The Astrophysical Journal, a detail the English-language report does not carry. Interest in such systems is longstanding and often literary: the idea of a planet orbiting more than one star is evoked in the fictional settings of Star Wars and The Three-Body Problem. The distinction of consequence here is between plausibility and evidence.
The next factual milestone to watch is observational. No planet has been detected at 70 Ophiuchi, and confirmation of one would rest on measurement rather than modelling. The material available does not name the study's authors, detail its methodology, or indicate whether other binary systems were modelled.