"Super-Earth' orbiting Sun's nearest single star discovered
Barnard's star is nearly six light-years away from the Sun
The 'super-Earth' orbits around the star once every 233 days
A handout pictures released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) LONDON. Nov 15 (PTI)
show artist's impressions of a 'super-Earth' planet viewed from space, (R). surface of a super-Earth' planet that has been discovered orbiting the closest star to Earth
ASTRONOMERS have discovered a frozen 'super-Earth' orbiting the closest solitary star to the Sun, a breakthrough that could shine light on our planet's nearest planetary neighbours. The potentially rocky planet, known as Barnard's star b, is a 'Super-Earth' and orbits around its host star once every 233 days, said researchers from Queen Mary University of London in the United Kingdom.
The findings, published in the journal Nature, show the planet lies at a distant region from the star known as the snow line. This is well beyond the habit- able zone in which liquid water, and possibly life, could exist,
researchers said. The planet's surface temperature is estimated to be. STORY around minus 170 degrees Celsius, meaning it is likely to be a frozen world which is uninviting to Earth-like life, they said.
However, it the planet has a | Substantial atmosphere the temperature could be higher and conditions potentially more hospitable. "Barnard's star an infamous object among astronomers and exoplanet scientists, as it was one of the first stars where planets were initially claimed but later proven to be incorrect. Hopefully we got it right this time," said Guillem Anglada Escude from Queen Mary's. Physics ' School of and Astronomy. "if the planet can be observed directly it will pro- vide vital information about its properties and extend our understanding of the kinds of planets that form around red dwarf stars," researchers said. Barnard's star bis the second closest known expo planet to our Sun. The closest lies just over four light-years from Earth.
mhat exoplanet, called Proxima b, orbits around the red dwart star Proxima Centaurl. The researchers used the radial velocity method during the observations that led to the dis- covery of Barnard's star b. This technique detects wob- bless in a star which are likely to be caused by the gravitational
pull of an orbiting planet.
researchers said. The planet's surface temperature is estimated to be. STORY around minus 170 degrees Celsius, meaning it is likely to be a frozen world which is uninviting to Earth-like life, they said.
However, it the planet has a | Substantial atmosphere the temperature could be higher and conditions potentially more hospitable. "Barnard's star an infamous object among astronomers and exoplanet scientists, as it was one of the first stars where planets were initially claimed but later proven to be incorrect. Hopefully we got it right this time," said Guillem Anglada Escude from Queen Mary's. Physics ' School of and Astronomy. "if the planet can be observed directly it will pro- vide vital information about its properties and extend our understanding of the kinds of planets that form around red dwarf stars," researchers said. Barnard's star bis the second closest known expo planet to our Sun. The closest lies just over four light-years from Earth.
mhat exoplanet, called Proxima b, orbits around the red dwart star Proxima Centaurl. The researchers used the radial velocity method during the observations that led to the dis- covery of Barnard's star b. This technique detects wob- bless in a star which are likely to be caused by the gravitational
pull of an orbiting planet.
This wealth of data provided the extraordinary accuracy needed to identify the influence of the planet with near certainty. The wobble observed in the stars motion corresponds i to speeds of only just over one metre per second--about walking speed. "After a very care full analysis, we are over 99 per cent confident that the planet is there, since this is the model that best fits our observations," said Ignasi Ribas from the Institute of Space Sciences in Spain. "However, we must remain cautious and collect more data to nail the case in the future,"
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