Animation of a sub-Earth-mass planet orbiting Barnard’s star

This animation shows Barnard b, a sub-Earth-mass planet that was discovered orbiting Barnard’s star. Using the ESPRESSO instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers measured the gravitational tug the planet induces on the star as it orbits it. The planet has at least half the mass of Venus but is too hot to support liquid water. On this planet, a year lasts just over three Earth days.