Barnard’s Star, our cosmic neighbour that is only six light-years away, has thrown up a surprise. Scientists have found four tiny planets orbiting it, a discovery that can help us learn about planet formation. Barnard’s Star has intrigued astronomers for years who have wondered about the possibility of planets hiding in the system. 

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Now they have found not one, but four planets that complete a full circle around their star in just a few days. According to calculations,  each of these planets is just 20 to 30 per cent of the mass of Earth and are rocky worlds.

The findings have been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

"It’s a really exciting find – Barnard’s Star is our cosmic neighbour, and yet we know so little about it," Ritvik Basant, PhD student at the University of Chicago and first author of the study, said.

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"It’s signalling a breakthrough with the precision of these new instruments from previous generations."

Barnard’s Star is a legend in astronomy

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In the past, scientists have claimed to have spotted planets in the vicinity of Barnard’s Star. However, no conclusive proof could ever be provided about the existence of planets around it. This led to the star earning the nickname the "great white whale". 

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Barnard’s Star is a legend in the field of astronomy, despite the lack of conclusive proof of planets before. This is because several experts seemed to have received clues signalling the presence of planets around it. But ultimately the calculations fell short, leaving them shattered. The hide-and-seek game intrigued more and more scientists, slowly making Barnard’s Star a hit.

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These mixed signals were often the result of the use of less sensitive equipment that can produce conflicting signals. 

How were the planets around Barnard’s Star discovered?

Spotting planets that orbit a star at a close distance is not easy. The team used an instrument called MAROON-X, installed on the Gemini Telescope in Hawaii, to detect disturbances in the star’s light signal. This led them to discover three planets around Barnard’s Star. The fourth one was found using older data from an earlier observation that was captured by ESPRESSO in Chile.

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The lead author of the study, Basant, is sure that they are not simply "phantom" planets.

“We observed at different times of night on different days. They’re in Chile; we’re in Hawaii. Our teams didn’t coordinate with each other at all,” said Basant. “That gives us a lot of assurance that these aren’t phantoms in the data.”

How is Barnard’s Star different from Proxima Centauri?

Barnard’s Star has been a popular contender for hosting planets because it is a single-star system, the closest to us after the Sun. On the other hand, Proxima Centauri is a multi-star system, with three stars locked in a gravitational dance. Such conditions are not conducive to planet formation, however, a single-star system is much more likely to birth planets.