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.

Astronomers have discovered four small planets orbiting Barnard's Star, the second-closest star system to Earth, using advanced instruments and techniques, shedding light on planetary formation and the search for life beyond our solar system.

Exciting new research suggests there are four miniature planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, each thought to be just 20 to 30% the mass of Earth.

Barnard’s Star is our cosmic neighbor, and yet we know so little about it,” said Ritvik Basant, Ph.D student at the University of Chicago

Astronomers have discovered not one, but four tiny planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, our cosmic neighbor. These planets, each about a fifth the mass of Earth, whip around their host star in just days—likely too hot for life but a major milestone in detecting smaller planets.