Barnard's Star b
 Artist’s impression of the surface of a super-Earth orbiting Barnard’s Star | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
|---|---|
| 0.404±0.018 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.32+0.10 −0.15 |
| 232.80+0.38 −0.41 d | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mass | ≥3.23±0.44 M🜨 |
| Temperature | ≲105±3 K |
Barnard's Star b (also designated GJ 699 b) is a candidate super-Earth-like exoplanet and ice planet that orbits Barnard's Star in the constellation of Ophiuchus. The exoplanet's discovery by an international team of astronomers, including the European Southern Observatory, and Carnegie Institution for Science was officially announced, through the Nature journal on 14 November, 2018.[2] It is the first confirmed planet orbiting Barnard's Star, which is six light years away from Earth.[3]
Characteristics
Barnard's Star b technically remains a planet candidate as it has been proposed with a confidence figure of 99%. The research team that made the announcement will continue observations to ensure that no improbable variations in brightness and motion in the star might account for the discovery. Earth-based telescopes ought to provide a direct imaging opportunity of the planet within ten years of 2018.
The planet was proposed through the radial velocity method, the most common planet-hunting technique. A "wobble" observed in Barnard's Star's motion was confirmed to have a period of about 233 days, corresponding to a semi-major axis of 0.4 AU for a proposed companion. The mass of the likely planetary body was then deduced to be about 3.2 Earth mass. Analysis was careful and extensive. Lead astronomer Ignasi Ribas notes that "we used observations from seven different instruments, spanning 20 years of measurements, making this one of the largest and most extensive datasets ever used for precise radial-velocity studies."[4]
Barnard's Star b is expected to be frigid with surface temperatures of around -170° C (-275° F). Its orbital distance, though close to the star by solar system standards, is around the snow line for a dim red dwarf like Barnard's Star. This is the point were volatile compounds such as water condense to form ice and thus outside the assumed habitable zone where temperatures are right for surficial liquid water. Astronomers expect to find more such "snow line" planets as proto-planetary accretion is favorable in this temperature range.
References
- ^ Ribas, I.; Tuomi, M.; Reiners, A.; Butler, R. P.; Morales, J. C.; Perger, M.; Dreizler, S.; Rodríguez-López, C.; González Hernández, J. I.; Rosich, A.; Feng, F.; Trifonov, T.; Vogt, S. S.; Caballero, J. A.; Hatzes, A.; Herrero, E.; Jeffers, S. V.; Lafarga, M.; Murgas, F.; Nelson, R. P.; Rodríguez, E.; Strachan, J. B. P.; Tal-Or, L.; Teske, J.; Toledo-Padrón, B.; Zechmeister, M.; Quirrenbach, A.; Amado, P. J.; Azzaro, M.; Béjar, V. J. S.; Barnes, J. R.; Berdiñas, Z. M.; Burt, J.; Coleman, G.; Cortés-Contreras, M.; Crane, J.; Engle, S. G.; Guinan, E. F.; Haswell, C. A.; Henning, Th.; Holden, B.; Jenkins, J.; Jones, H. R. A.; Kaminski, A.; Kiraga, M.; Kürster, M.; Lee, M. H.; López-González, M. J.; Montes, D.; Morin, J.; Ofir, A.; Pallé, E.; Rebolo, R.; Reffert, S.; Schweitzer, A.; Seifert, W.; Shectman, S. A.; Staab, D.; Street, R. A.; Suárez Mascareño, A.; Tsapras, Y.; Wang, S. X.; Anglada-Escudé, G. (2018). "A candidate super-Earth planet orbiting near the snow line of Barnard's star" (PDF). Nature. 563 (7731). Springer Nature America, Inc: 365–368. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0677-y. ISSN 0028-0836. OCLC 716177853.
- ^ Rincon, Paul (2018-11-14). "Planet found circling neighbouring star". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- ^ "At last, a planet for Barnard's Star | EarthSky.org". earthsky.org. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- ^ Wall, Mike (November 14, 2018). "Icy 'Super-Earth' Exoplanet Spotted Around Nearby Barnard's Star". Space.com. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
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