Yes, a planet can orbit two stars—but the best-known example, Kepler-16 b, is a cold, Saturn-size gas giant about 245 light-years from Earth, not an Earthlike world. Scientists have modeled how an Earth-size planet might fare in a two-star system, but the NASA/JPL example is hypothetical. The sources cited here do not establish a nearby confirmed Earthlike planet orbiting both stars.
What does “a planet with two stars” mean?
The planet would orbit both stars in a binary pair; astronomers call this a circumbinary planet. It is not simply a planet orbiting one star while another happens to appear in its sky. NASA/JPL described Kepler-16 b as the first unambiguous detection of a planet orbiting both stars in a binary system (NASA/JPL, 2011).
How nearby is the confirmed example?
Kepler-16 b: two stars, but not an Earthlike planet
NASA Science places Kepler-16 b about 245 light-years away and gives it an orbital year of 229 days (NASA Science). That is nearby in the scale of the Milky Way, but far beyond the solar neighborhood. The planet is about Saturn-size and gaseous, so it is not an Earthlike world with a solid surface where people could live. NASA/JPL’s 2011 discovery release gave an earlier approximate distance of 200 light-years; NASA Science’s later explainer gives about 245 light-years.
Has an Earth-size planet around two stars been found?
The NASA/JPL source cited here describes a climate model, not a discovery. In 2017, researchers modeled a hypothetical water-covered, Earth-size planet added to the Kepler-35 system. The system’s known planet is a giant roughly eight times Earth’s size; the Earth-size world in the model was not observed. Researchers tested hypothetical orbital periods of 341 to 380 Earth days and found that some modeled conditions could allow liquid water to persist (NASA/JPL, 2017).
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That result shows that a potentially habitable Earth-size planet is plausible in some two-star systems. It does not show that such a planet exists in Kepler-35, that every binary system can host one, or that a modeled world has life.
Could a planet around two stars be habitable?
NASA defines a habitable zone as the range of distances from a star where liquid water could exist on an orbiting planet’s surface. Its position depends on the star’s size and brightness (NASA Science). In a binary system, both stars contribute light, and their changing positions and gravitational effects shape the planet’s orbit and climate.
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In the Kepler-35 model, the planet’s path would wobble instead of following a simple circle. A model focused on one star pair and a particular set of orbital assumptions cannot establish that all two-star systems have stable, habitable orbits. NASA Kepler researcher Jon Jenkins has discussed how the close-in region around a binary can be dynamically unsuitable, but that system-specific illustration should not be treated as a universal distance rule (NASA).
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What would the sky look like?
A circumbinary planet can have two suns in its sky. NASA/JPL’s 2011 discovery account quoted Kepler project scientist Nick Gautier: “We don’t expect Luke Skywalker or anything else to be living on Kepler-16b, but if you could visit there, you’d see a sky with two suns, just like Luke did.” The image is memorable, but Kepler-16 b is a cold gas giant—not an Earthlike home.
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