Artist's Impression of the Surface of a Super-Earth Orbiting Barnard's Star (IMAGE)

ESO

Artist's Impression of the Surface of a Super-Earth Orbiting Barnard's Star

Caption

The nearest single star to the Sun hosts an exoplanet at least 3.2 times as massive as Earth -- a so-called super-Earth. Data from a worldwide array of telescopes, including ESO's planet-hunting HARPS instrument, have revealed this frozen, dimly lit world. The newly discovered planet is the second-closest known exoplanet to the Earth and orbits the fastest moving star in the night sky. This image shows an artist's impression of the planet's surface.

Credit

ESO/M. Kornmesser

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