After a century of searching, astronomers have finally confirmed the existence of four rocky planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, our cosmic next-door neighbor. Located just six light-years away, this discovery marks a significant milestone in our understanding of planetary systems around red dwarf stars. The Breakthrough Discovery Astronomers used the MAROON-X spectrograph on the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii to detect these four small worlds. The planets range from 19% to 34% of Earth’s mass, making them some of the smallest exoplanets ever found using the radial velocity method. “It’s a really exciting find—Barnard’s Star is our cosmic neighbor, and yet … Continue reading Barnard’s Star Hosts Four Sub-Earth Planets Confirmed by Astronomers