Discovery of a Tiny Exoplanet Sheds New Light on a Very Old Star

Barnard’s Star, named after the American astronomer E. E. Barnard who discovered its rapid proper motion in 1916, has long fascinated astronomers. As the closest single star to the Sun after the Alpha Centauri system, Barnard’s Star offers a unique opportunity to study stellar evolution and the dynamics of planetary systems around red dwarfs. Despite being just six light-years away, the star’s dimness has kept it shrouded in mystery — until now.