They discover a “tiny” world near the Sun where a year lasts only three days

Spanish scientists have discovered an exoplanet in the closest star to the planet SolBarnard. This new world, called “Barnard b”, has surprising characteristics, although it would not be habitable for life as we know it. The discovery was possible thanks to five years of observations with the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory in Chile.

Barnard, a red dwarf, is the closest star to the Solar System that moves independently of any star system. Although previous studies had indicated signs of the possible existence of planets orbiting around it, this is the first confirmed discovery of an exoplanet in its environment.

The team of scientists focused their search on exoplanets within the “habitable zone” of the star, where the temperature would allow the existence of liquid water. However, because Barnard Star is less powerful than the Sun, life on this exoplanet would not be possible. In 2018, the first signs of a planetary signal were detected, which led to a more detailed study.

The data obtained show that the exoplanet completes an orbit around Barnard in just 3.15 Earth days, suggesting a very high rotation speed. Furthermore, the observed movement indicates that Barnard b has a minimum mass of 0.37 times that of the Earth and a surface temperature close to 125 °C.

According to Jonay González Hernández, researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands and lead author of the study, Barnard b is “one of the lowest mass exoplanets known.” Its discovery provides valuable information about the formation of planetary systems around red dwarfs, as well as the possible habitability conditions in these environments.

The study also opens up the possibility that more low-mass exoplanets exist in the vicinity of our solar system. “This discovery, along with others such as Proxima b and d, demonstrates that our cosmic neighborhood is full of low-mass planets,” says Alejandro Suárez Mascareño, co-author of the research.