WASHINGTON—Astronomers have identified a quartet of small rocky planets orbiting Barnard’s star— one of our closest stellar neighbors—though they concluded that all of them are too hot to harbor life, much like our solar system’s innermost planet Mercury.
At about 6 light years away, Barnard’s star is the nearest single star—one not orbiting with other stars— to our solar system. Only the three stars in the Alpha Centauri system, about 4 light-years away, are closer. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles.
The researchers used data from the Hawaii-based Gemini Telescope and Chile-based Very Large Telescope to confirm the presence of the four planets around Barnard’s star. A study published last year using data from the Very Large Telescope had indicated the presence of one planet, with hints of three more....
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