Super-Earth Orbiting Barnard's Star
Astronomers have discovered compelling evidence for another exoplanet in our close neighbourhood...
...using ESO's planet-hunting instrument HARPS and other facilities around the world.
Our new neighbour is a little over 3 times the mass of the Earth...
...and is a freezing, shadowy world.
The host star's weak light means the planet's surface is an intensely cold –170°C.
It orbits Barnard's Star, a cool, low-mass red dwarf only 6 light-years away, and the closest single star to our Sun.
The motion of Barnard's Star gave the planet away. The star turns in tiny circles due to the orbiting planet's gravitational pull...
...causing the colour of starlight to change due to the Doppler effect.
Transcribed by ESO; Translated by —