Latest news with #GeminiTelescope
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Several planets found orbiting star less than 6 light-years away
Astronomers have confirmed the existence of four planets orbiting a star less than 6 light-years away with help from some of the world's most powerful telescopes. Research published in October 2024 revealed that one planet was rotating around Barnard's Star, the second-closest single star system to Earth. But a combination of telescopes all over the world confirmed the presence of four small exoplanets, according to a study published last week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. MORE: How global warming could threaten satellites, according to new study The Gemini Telescope in Hawaii and the Very Large Telescope in Chile were used to detect the additional rocky planets, the astronomers said. "It's signaling a breakthrough with the precision of these new instruments from previous generations," said Ritvik Basant, Ph.D student at the University of Chicago and lead author of the paper, in a statement. The first planet was detected using a 27-foot diameter telescope at the European Space Observatory's Paranal Observatory in Chile and a spectrograph that could quickly detect changes in the star's velocity, according to the 2024 paper, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. MORE: 3.5 billion-year-old crater created by meteorite impact found in Australia, scientists say Barnard's Star, a low-mass red dwarf, was discovered in 1916. Since then, astronomers have discovered that at least 70% of all stars in the Milky Way are this type of star, which is why researchers want to know about the types of planets that orbit them, according to the University of Chicago. "It's a really exciting find -- Barnard's Star is our cosmic neighbor, and yet we know so little about it," Basant said. The planets are 20% to 30% the mass of Earth and make a full orbit around the sun in days, according to the paper. They are likely rocky planets, rather than gas. Since they are so close to Barnard's Star, they are likely too hot to sustain life. The researchers ruled out the existence of other planets within the habitable zone of Barnard's Star. MORE: Parade of planets this month will feature celestial bodies in alignment The planets are difficult to detect because their stars shine so brightly next to them, the researchers said. Scientists from the Gemini Observatory, National Science Foundation NOIRLab, Heidelberg University and the University of Amsterdam calibrated and analyzed data taken during 112 different nights over three years, where they found "solid evidence" to the existence of the additional planets orbiting Barnard's Star, according to the paper. "We observed at different times of night on different days," Basant said. "They're in Chile; we're in Hawaii. Our teams didn't coordinate with each other at all." MORE: Binary star system found near the Milky Way's black hole: An 'amazing' discovery, astrophysicists say He added, "That gives us a lot of assurance that these aren't phantoms in the data." Several planets found orbiting star less than 6 light-years away originally appeared on
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Four small rocky planets confirmed orbiting nearby Barnard's star
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - 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 (9.5 trillion km). See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. 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. Planets beyond our solar system are called exoplanets. Those orbiting Barnard's star are among the smallest of the more than 5,800 exoplanets discovered since the 1990s as astronomers refine their ability to pinpoint such little worlds. Barnard's star, located in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus, is a red dwarf, the smallest type of regular star. Its mass is about 16% of the sun's and it is far less hot. But its four planets are orbiting so close that its heat has created surface temperatures that would seem to preclude life, much like the baked surface of Mercury. "A key requirement for habitability is the presence of liquid surface water," said Ritvik Basant, a doctoral student in astronomy at the University of Chicago and lead author of the study published this week in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. "If a planet orbits too close to its star, any water would evaporate. If it's too far, it would freeze. It turns out, all four planets orbiting Barnard's star are too close to their host, making them too hot to sustain liquid water," Basant said. This is the only known star with a multi-planet system entirely comprised of planets smaller than Earth. The innermost planet has a mass 26% of Earth, the second has a mass 30% of Earth, the third has a mass 34% of Earth and the outermost of the four has a mass 19% of Earth. Each completes an orbit in just a few days. To put their mass in perspective, Mars has about 11% the mass of Earth and Mercury has about 6%. The four planets each travel in nearly perfectly circular orbits around Barnard's star - all at less than the distance of Mercury's orbit to the sun. Astronomers refer to a "habitable zone" that exists around stars at a distance where planetary surface temperatures, like those on Earth, would allow for liquid water. Around Barnard's star, the researchers ruled out the presence of any Earth-sized planets residing in the habitable zone but have not ruled out the possibility of other small planets in the system. In the search for life beyond Earth, scientists are looking for potentially habitable planets that are rocky and warm like our own, rather than gas plants. With the new findings, astronomers now know that there are rocky planets orbiting in the Alpha Centauri and Barnard's star systems, though none in the habitable zone. Two exoplanets have been detected in the Alpha Centauri system, both orbiting the red dwarf Proxima Centauri. Various methods are used to detect exoplanets. In this study, the researchers used the "wobble" method, formally called "radial velocity." The presence of a planet gravitationally tugs on its host star, causing the star to wobble ever so slightly. Telescopes can measure this movement, allowing astronomers to infer a planetary presence. Astronomers have fine-tuned their ability to spot exoplanets through this method, thanks to increasingly sensitive instruments. The outermost of the Barnard's star exoplanets is the smallest of the approximately 1,100 discovered using this method. "This study showcases the growing capabilities of next-generation instruments in detecting low-mass planets. The four newly discovered planets orbiting Barnard's star are all sub-Earth mass planets, a regime that remains largely unexplored beyond the solar system. This marks a significant step forward in the search for Earth-mass planets within the habitable zones of sun-like stars," Basant said.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Four small rocky planets confirmed orbiting nearby Barnard's star
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - 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 (9.5 trillion km). See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. 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. Planets beyond our solar system are called exoplanets. Those orbiting Barnard's star are among the smallest of the more than 5,800 exoplanets discovered since the 1990s as astronomers refine their ability to pinpoint such little worlds. Barnard's star, located in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus, is a red dwarf, the smallest type of regular star. Its mass is about 16% of the sun's and it is far less hot. But its four planets are orbiting so close that its heat has created surface temperatures that would seem to preclude life, much like the baked surface of Mercury. "A key requirement for habitability is the presence of liquid surface water," said Ritvik Basant, a doctoral student in astronomy at the University of Chicago and lead author of the study published this week in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. "If a planet orbits too close to its star, any water would evaporate. If it's too far, it would freeze. It turns out, all four planets orbiting Barnard's star are too close to their host, making them too hot to sustain liquid water," Basant said. This is the only known star with a multi-planet system entirely comprised of planets smaller than Earth. The innermost planet has a mass 26% of Earth, the second has a mass 30% of Earth, the third has a mass 34% of Earth and the outermost of the four has a mass 19% of Earth. Each completes an orbit in just a few days. To put their mass in perspective, Mars has about 11% the mass of Earth and Mercury has about 6%. The four planets each travel in nearly perfectly circular orbits around Barnard's star - all at less than the distance of Mercury's orbit to the sun. Astronomers refer to a "habitable zone" that exists around stars at a distance where planetary surface temperatures, like those on Earth, would allow for liquid water. Around Barnard's star, the researchers ruled out the presence of any Earth-sized planets residing in the habitable zone but have not ruled out the possibility of other small planets in the system. In the search for life beyond Earth, scientists are looking for potentially habitable planets that are rocky and warm like our own, rather than gas plants. With the new findings, astronomers now know that there are rocky planets orbiting in the Alpha Centauri and Barnard's star systems, though none in the habitable zone. Two exoplanets have been detected in the Alpha Centauri system, both orbiting the red dwarf Proxima Centauri. Various methods are used to detect exoplanets. In this study, the researchers used the "wobble" method, formally called "radial velocity." The presence of a planet gravitationally tugs on its host star, causing the star to wobble ever so slightly. Telescopes can measure this movement, allowing astronomers to infer a planetary presence. Astronomers have fine-tuned their ability to spot exoplanets through this method, thanks to increasingly sensitive instruments. The outermost of the Barnard's star exoplanets is the smallest of the approximately 1,100 discovered using this method. "This study showcases the growing capabilities of next-generation instruments in detecting low-mass planets. The four newly discovered planets orbiting Barnard's star are all sub-Earth mass planets, a regime that remains largely unexplored beyond the solar system. This marks a significant step forward in the search for Earth-mass planets within the habitable zones of sun-like stars," Basant said.
