Four Sub-Earth Planets Confirmed Around Barnard's Star

Astronomers have identified four tiny, rocky exoplanets orbiting Barnard’s Star, our closest solitary stellar neighbor, using advanced detection methods.

Barnard's Star, located just 6 light-years away, is now confirmed to host four small exoplanets, each 20-30% the mass of Earth.
The planets were detected using the radial velocity technique with the MAROON-X instrument on the Gemini North telescope, alongside data from the ESPRESSO instrument on the Very Large Telescope.
The exoplanets orbit extremely close to their host star, completing their orbits in just 2-7 Earth days, making them too hot to support liquid water or life.
This discovery marks a breakthrough in detecting smaller, rocky planets around nearby stars, with one planet setting a record as the smallest mass detected via radial velocity.
The findings, independently confirmed by separate research teams, highlight the potential for discovering more sub-Earth planets in our cosmic neighborhood.