Astronomers have confirmed the presence of four small planets around Barnard’s Star, one of our solar system’s nearest and most fascinating neighbors. The discovery verifies a previous study that suggested the star was orbited by at least one planet.
The new findings were made using the radial velocity method, which detects hidden exoplanets by measuring their host star’s subtle wobble caused by the planets’ gravitational pull. This method reveals an exoplanet’s orbital period and distance from its star, as well as an estimate of its mass based on the wobble’s strength.
The observations show that each planet is approximately 20-30% the size of Earth, indicating they are likely rocky in composition. However, their extremely close orbits to Barnard’s Star make them inhospitable to life as we know it, due to scorching temperatures.
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/newfound-exoplanets-around-barnards-star-resolve-long-standing-astronomical