We’ve found a new exoplanet nearby
but you don’t want to vacation there…
ESO NEWS A new exoplanet in our cosmic backyard
We have a new neighbour…
an exoplanet only six light-years away.
It orbits Barnard’s star,
the closest individual star to our Sun.
As the planet moves around its star,
its gravitational pull makes the star wobble.
This shifts the light of the star,
which was measured with ESO’s Very Large Telescope.
The planet is so close to the star
that a year there lasts only about 3 Earth days.
With a surface temperature of 125 °C,
it cannot sustain liquid water.
The search for habitable neighbours continues…
Music: Stellardrone – Milky way. Written by: H. Huysegoms, A. Izquierdo Lopez. Footage and photos: ESO, L. Calçada, B. Tafreshi, M. Kornmesser, M. Zamani, V. Romanyuk.