Astronomers, using the Very Large Telescope ESO Telescope, have discovered the Barnard B exoplanet, which rotates around the Barnard Star, located only six light years from Earth. It weighs about half of Venus, and a year on this planet lasts just over three earthly days, reports The Independent.
The research, published in Astronomy and Astrophysics , lasted for five years. Astronomers have also suggested that three more exoplanets may exist that they can rotate around Barnard's star.
It should be noted that by this time no planet has been confirmed in the orbit of Barnard Star. Honzalez Hernandez, a leading author of the article from the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, emphasized: "Even if it took a lot of time, we were always sure that we could find something."
Scientists have investigated possible signals from exoplanets within the populated or temperate zone of Barnard's star, where liquid water can theoretically exist. The Barnard B planet turns twenty times closer to its star than Mercury to the Sun. The temperature on its surface reaches about 125 degrees Celsius.
Gonzalez Ernandez noted that "Barnard B is one of the least massive known exoplanets and one of the few with mass less than Earth. However, the planet is too close to its star, closer than inhabited." He also added that despite the fact that the star is about 2500 degrees colder than our sun, the temperature on Barnard B is too high for the existence of liquid water on the surface.
This discovery adds new information about possible exoplanets that can exist in neighboring star systems and opens new horizons in extraterrestrial studies.
