A new planet has been discovered by astronomers orbiting Barnard’s Star, one of the closest systems to our Sun, only six light years away. This discovery comes after decades of speculation regarding planets around this star, dating back to the 1960s. However, the recent findings published in the journal “Astronomy and Astrophysics” provide substantial evidence to support this claim.
Using the state-of-the-art spectrograph Espresso, installed on the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile, a team of scientists conducted extensive observations of the star. This advanced tool allowed them to detect subtle gravitational fluctuations caused by orbiting planets, confirming the presence of one planet and indicating the possibility of three more.
The main confirmed planet has a short orbital period of 3.15 Earth days and is approximately 40% of Earth’s mass. The potential satellites are even smaller, ranging from one fifth to one third of Earth’s mass, making them unique in comparison to our solar system’s planets, where Venus and Mars are significantly larger, and the gas giants are more massive.
Although these planets are located in the so-called “habitable zone,” where liquid water could exist, the chances of life are minimal due to their small size, which prevents them from retaining a dense atmosphere. Additionally, the proximity to Barnard’s Star, a M-Dwarf subject to intense solar flares, further reduces the likelihood of maintaining an atmosphere.
The radial velocity method used in this study provides a minimum estimate of the planets’ masses, as the orbits cannot be observed directly. This method has allowed scientists to detect these planets orbiting around Barnard’s Star, a subject of observation for several years.
Previous claims regarding planets around Barnard’s Star have been met with skepticism in the scientific community. However, the current findings provide solid evidence supporting the existence of these planets. Further observations are necessary to confirm the presence of several planets orbiting this nearby star.