Joy Qualls., Age 14, Of Linden, Tenn., for her question:

Could alpha centauri have planets?

Our sun's nearest neighbor is actually a triple star. Two big stars, which are not too far apart, revo1ve around and around each other, while a smaller star circles around than at a great distance. A double star, you might think, could not have a family of planets. But it may be possible.

Though the twins are close to each other, they are still millions of miles apart. If our sun were one of a double star, its twin might be 10 times farther away than the rim of the solar system. There would still be plenty of room for both suns to have planet families. The experts think that many and perhaps most of the stars have planets, and it is just possible that the double stars of alpha centauri are neighboring solar systems.