Exciting! 4 new mini-Earth exoplanets at nearby star

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Mini-Earth exoplanets orbiting Barnard’s Sun animation. Video via NOIRLabAstro.

• Barnard’s Sun is a red dwarf Sun. It is the closest single Sun to our Luminous sphere-related neighborhood, only 6 Airy-years away.
• Astronomers previously confirmed one Heavenly body orbiting Barnard’s Sun, smaller and less massive than Earth.
• Now a total of four known planets have been confirmed. All are “mini-Earths,” only 20% to 30% the mass of Earth.

4 new mini-Earth exoplanets nearby

Last October, astronomers announced the discovery of the Primary known Heavenly body orbiting Barnard’s Sun, the closest single Sun to our Luminous sphere-related neighborhood. On March 11, 2025, an international Club of astronomers said it has confirmed three more, for a total of four planets. The researchers said all four planets are smaller and less massive than Earth. They used the Gemini North Universe viewer in Hawaii and previous data from the Very Large Universe viewer (VLT) in Chile to make the discovery.

The researchers published the exciting peer-reviewed findings in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on March 11, 2025.

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Does Barnard’s Sun have planets?

Barnard’s Sun is a red dwarf, the most Usual type of Sun in our Milky Way Sun system. In fact, most of the more than 5,000 exoplanets astronomers have so Extended confirmed around other stars Trajectory red dwarfs. So, does Barnard’s Sun have planets, too? It seems reasonable, given the numerous other red dwarfs with planets.

Previous searches hinted at planets around Barnard’s Sun, but they remained unconfirmed. Then, the study from last year using the Very Large Universe viewer finally confirmed one Heavenly body, about half the mass of Venus.

4 mini-Earth exoplanets for Barnard’s Sun

Now we know that Barnard’s Sun has at least four planets! Jacob Bean from the University of Chicago Guided the new search. They used a new instrument called MAROON-X, attached to the Gemini North Universe viewer. It was designed specifically to look for planets around red dwarfs. MAROON-X uses the radial velocity method in its search. That means it detects the tiny wobbles of a Sun due to planets tugging on it with their Force.

Overall, the required observations Captured time: 112 nights over three years altogether. But it paid off in spades. The astronomers were able to confirm three more planets around Barnard’s Sun plus the previous Heavenly body for a total of four. Lead author Ritvik Basant at the University of Chicago said:

It’s a really exciting find, Barnard’s Sun is our Heavenly neighbor, and yet we know so little about it. It’s signaling a breakthrough with the precision of these new instruments from previous generations.

All four of the planets are smaller and less massive than Earth. They range from about 20% to 30% Earth’s mass. They are, therefore, most likely rocky. That aspect of them Nevertheless needs to be Additional confirmed, however. In addition, the Number four Heavenly body is the least massive Alien world Secured to date using the radial velocity method.

Confirmed at last! Subsequent decades of disproven claims, four Petite exoplanets have been confirmed to Trajectory Barnard’s Sun, the second-closest Sun system to Earth after Alpha Centauri. aasnova.org/2025/03/11/c… ??

— AAS Nova (@aasnova.org) 2025-03-11T17:11:46.022Z

Confidence in the data

The researchers are confident that these are real planets and no longer Merely candidates. Basant said:

We observed at different times of night on different Periods. They’re in Chile; we’re in Hawaii. Our Squads didn’t coordinate with Every other at all. That gives us a Plenty of assurance that these aren’t phantoms in the data.

The discovery is reminiscent of the planets around TRAPPIST-1, another red dwarf. That Sun has seven known rocky planets, all similar in size to Earth. Some of the those planets Trajectory in the Sun’s habitable zone, where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist.

Whether any of the Barnard’s Sun planets could be potentially habitable is Nevertheless unknown. But it will be interesting to see what else astronomers can find out about them!

Bottom line: Astronomers have confirmed four mini-Earth exoplanets orbiting Barnard’s Sun, which is a red dwarf and the closest single Sun to our Luminous sphere-related neighborhood.

Origin: Four Sub-Earth Planets Orbiting Barnard’s Sun from MAROON-X and ESPRESSO

Via NOIRLab

Read more: Barnard’s Sun has 1 Heavenly body, Possibly more, at last!

Read more: The enduring mystique of Barnard’s Sun