In 2010, astronomers were stirred by the discovery of Gliese 581g, a distant Earthlike planet that orbited its star just closely enough to allow for surface water, and possibly life.

But the planet’s existence was almost immediately called into question, with some researchers unable to locate it. Now, a team at Penn State is saying that Gliese 581g and a presumed neighbor planet, Gliese 581d, were simply illusions caused by the star they supposedly orbited.

By measuring hydrogen atoms in the atmosphere of that star (Gliese 581), the researchers found that signals originally thought to be coming from planets were actually false positives caused by intense stellar magnetic activity, like sunspots. Such activity can sometimes stimulate the emission of hydrogen.

But all is not lost, said the study’s lead author, Paul Robertson, an astronomer at Penn State. Correcting for the magnetic activity also increased the signals for other planets long thought to orbit Gliese 581.