Researchers Discover Exoplanets Orbiting Barnard's Star

Recent astronomical research has unveiled the presence of multiple exoplanets in the vicinity of Barnard's Star, which is recognized as the closest single star to our solar system. This discovery adds to our understanding of this stellar neighbor and its planetary system.

A research team, led by astronomer Ritvik Basant from the University of Chicago, has identified three additional exoplanets orbiting Barnard's Star, complementing the one previously discovered. The findings were published in the journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters and suggest that all four planets are likely rocky, similar to Earth, albeit smaller in size.

Basant expressed enthusiasm about the discovery, noting the limited knowledge we have about Barnard's Star despite its proximity. The newly identified exoplanets are reported to have masses ranging from 20 to 30 percent that of Earth, indicating that the likelihood of life existing on these planets is minimal. Their close proximity to the star places them outside the so-called habitable zone, where conditions might support life.

The innermost planet completes its orbit around Barnard's Star in just 2.3 days, while the outermost takes approximately 6.7 days to make a full revolution. Researchers have estimated the surface temperatures of these planets to be between 66 and 210 degrees Celsius, making them inhospitable to life as we know it.

The exoplanets were detected using the Gemini North telescope, an 8-meter observatory located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The team employed the MAROON-X spectrograph, a specialized instrument developed for detecting planets around red dwarf stars.

Barnard's Star is classified as a red dwarf, characterized by its dim light and invisibility to the naked eye from Earth. Situated in the Ophiuchus constellation, it lies approximately six light-years away, making it the second closest star system after Alpha Centauri.

Emerson E. Barnard, an American astronomer, discovered the star in 1916. Due to its proximity, the search for potential exoplanets orbiting Barnard's Star has been a focus for astronomers for years. However, substantial findings have only emerged recently, following an earlier misidentification of a super-Earth in 2018 that was later disproven.