"While the planet candidate is in Alpha Centauri A's habitable zone — the range of distances from a star where it's possible for liquid water to exist on a world's surface — it is a gas giant and thus wouldn't be able to support life as we know it. Still, the potential planet is an exciting discovery."
I am no expert, but I believe a gas giant at 2 AU would preclude an Earth like planet at 1 AU or anywhere else in the habitable zone. Of course, a satellite around that gas giant might work if Alpha Centauri is a little hotter than Sol. Which it likely is. It has a higher absolute magnitude* than Sol, so likely hotter.
*Absolute magnitude is how bright a star appears from 10 parsecs away.
I think it's going to be discovered that red dwarfs aren't really conductive to supporting life because the habitable zone is too close to the star. Unwelcoming radiation environment and tidally locked planets. But I'm a believer in the rare earth hypothesis. Bummer, and I'd like to be wrong.
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