Four small planets discovered around one of the closest stars to Earth—an expert explains what we know

Astronomers Find Four New Exoplanets Orbiting a Neighboring Star, the 'White Whale' of Planet Seekers

More than 60 years after the first debunked discovery of a planet orbiting Barnard’s Star, the closest single-star system to Earth, a pair of telescopes has revealed multiple rocky worlds around it

After 50 Years of Searching for Exoplanets, We Found Our Smallest Cosmic Neighbors Orbiting Local Star

Astronomers have identified 4 exoplanets orbiting the nearest single star to Earth, an effort that had been ongoing for 50 years and produced many false positives. These rather small planets are a stone’s throw from Earth in galactic terms, but were too small for previous instruments to detect. Barnard’s Star is a low-mass red dwarf […] The post After 50 Years of Searching for Exoplanets, We Found Our Smallest Cosmic Neighbors Orbiting Local Sta…

The nearest single star to Earth has four small planets

Last year, astronomers announced that a planet orbits Barnard’s star. Now, researchers have confirmed the existence of three more.

Newfound Exoplanets around Barnard’s Star Resolve Long-Standing Astronomical Quest

Four small, newly discovered worlds are less than six light-years away from Earth, and their discovery reinforces a cautionary tale from planet hunting’s prehistory

Astronomers find evidence of small planets surrounding nearby star

CHICAGO — Astronomers have discovered new evidence of small planets orbiting Barnard's Star, the closest single star system to Earth.

Four small planets discovered around one of the closest stars to Earth—an expert explains what we know

Barnard's Star is a small, dim star of the type that astronomers call red dwarfs. Consequently, even though it is one of the closest stars to Earth, such that its light takes only six years to get here, it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Now, four small planets have been found orbiting the star. Teams in America and Europe achieved this challenging detection by exploiting precision instruments on the world's largest telescopes.