A smudge of light spotted by the James Webb telescope near Alpha Centauri A could be the planet with the tightest orbit ever to be imaged directly. A glimpse of a planet in its star’s habitable zone — ...

The big picture: Nearly 6,000 exoplanets have now been confirmed in the vast expanse of the Milky Way galaxy. Some are believed to have the potential to harbor life, while others are so hostile that ...