Scientists Discover Four Intriguing Planets Around Closest Single-Star Solar System to Earth

Astronomers have spotted four smaller-than-Earth exoplanets orbiting the closest single-star system to us, called Barnard's Star. As detailed in a new paper published in the journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters, an international team of researchers discovered that the star — a small red dwarf star just 16 percent of our own Sun's mass and just under six light-years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus — has four tiny and seemingly rocky worlds orbiting it. According to the astronomers, these exoplanets — which are among the smallest ever discovered — could force us to reevaluate our understanding of how planets form and evolve. The four planets were spotted by the MAROON-X instrument, a highly sensitive piece of equipment attached to the Gemini North telescope at the International Gemini Observatory in Hilo, Hawaii. "It’s a really exciting find — Barnard’s Star is our cosmic neighbor, and yet we know so little about it," said University of Chicago PhD student and first au ... Read full article.