Illustration of Barnard’s Star’s four exoplanets. © Illustration by International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R. Proctor/J. Pollard
Nearby star hosts four mini-Earth exoplanets just 6 light-years away.
Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope have identified four small exoplanets orbiting Barnard’s Star, the closest single-star system to Earth.
One of these planets is the least massive ever found using the radial velocity method, marking a breakthrough in detecting smaller planets around nearby stars.
Barnard’s Star, a red dwarf first noted in 1916, has long been a focus for planet hunters due to its potential for hosting rocky worlds. After analyzing three years of data collected over 112 nights, researchers confirmed the existence of three planets, two of which were previously unverified candidates.
The study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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