Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT), astronomers have discovered an exoplanet orbiting Barnard’s star, the closest single star to our sun. On this newly discovered exoplanet, which has at least half the mass of Venus, a year lasts just over three Earth days. The team’s observations also hint at the existence of three more exoplanet candidates, in various orbits around the star.

Located just six light-years away, Barnard’s star is the second-closest stellar system—after Alpha Centauri’s three-star group—and the closest individual star to us. Owing to its proximity, it is a primary target in the search for Earth-like exoplanets. Despite a promising detection back in 2018, no planet orbiting Barnard’s star had been confirmed until now.

The discovery of this new exoplanet—announced in a paper published today in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics—is the result of observations made over the last five years with ESO’s VLT, located at Paranal Observatory in Chile. “Even if it took a long time, we were always confident that we could find something,” says Jonay González Hernández, a researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in Spain, and lead author of the paper.

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Scientists FINALLY FOUND a new way to travel faster than light!

The idea of using “warp drive” technology, which used to be just a fantasy, is now becoming a real scientific topic. This is a big shift in how we think about exploring space. Think about it: right now, space travel is super slow. For example, Voyager one, a spacecraft launched in nineteen seventy-seven, took thirty-five years just to leave our solar system. But if we could travel faster than light, the possibilities for exploration would skyrocket. We could go from being stuck on Earth to becoming explorers of the whole universe. But we have to ask ourselves: are the same laws of physics that hold us back also hiding the secret to breaking free?

This concept could change the game for space travel, showing us that the physicist’s speed limit might not be as final as we thought. If we stop thinking about speed in the traditional way and focus on bending space itself, we might be able to do what once seemed impossible. The potential is mind-blowing. If we could actually make this work, it would transform our relationship with space. Suddenly, interstellar travel wouldn’t be just a dream—it could become a reality. We could visit distant galaxies, study planets far from our solar system, and even start colonies on other worlds.