Gas Giant Discovered in Habitable Zone of Blazing A-Type Star

The discovery, detailed in The Astrophysical Journal, centers on an A-type star that burns with a surface temperature of approximately 7,500 degrees Celsius. This host star is nearly twice as massive as the Sun and shines nine times brighter, pushing its habitable zone much further out than those found in solar-type systems. The planet, designated HD 156295 b, is a gas giant roughly six times the mass of Jupiter, completing an orbit every six years at a distance of 3.9 astronomical units.

Astronomers identified the candidate by analyzing data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, specifically screening 16,500 Delta Scuti stars. Despite the extreme intensity of its host star, the planet receives only 60% of the starlight Earth gets from the Sun, placing it in a temperate thermal range. While the gas giant lacks a solid surface, researchers suggest that any large moons orbiting the planet could potentially possess atmospheres and liquid water, shifting the focus of future astrobiological studies toward these sub-planetary bodies.