Barnard's Star, 6 Light-Years Away, May Have Cold SuperEarth

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In summary: What's false, that there is no planets or just that there is no confidence van de Kamp detected them?
  • #1
CygnusX-1
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The planet:

Distance from star: 0.4 AU (comparable to Mercury)
Orbital period: 233 days (comparable to Venus)
Mass: at least 3 Earth masses
Temperature: -270 F (comparable to Saturn)

Barnard's Star:

Distance from us: 6 light-years; second closest star system to Sun after Alpha Centauri
Spectral type: M3.5 V (red dwarf)
Mass: 0.16 Suns
Diameter: 0.18 Suns
Luminosity: 0.0033 Suns
Temperature: 3280 K
Rotation period: 140 days

Link: Nature

https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/a-chilly-super-earth-may-orbit-barnards-star/
 
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  • #2
Likely a sort of very small gas/ice giant with super-dense hydrogen atmosphere. It would be helium and nitrogen enriched due hydrogen loss to space during last 10 billion years, but i doubt the atmosphere pressure can be below Venusian level (90 bar)
 
  • #3
Back in the 1960s-70s, didn't an astronomer claim to have detected a planet around Barnard's star; but later, others insisted it was a false detection?
 
  • #4
chasrob said:
Back in the 1960s-70s, didn't an astronomer claim to have detected a planet around Barnard's star; but later, others insisted it was a false detection?

Yes, that detection was proven false. But they think they have it right this time. Time will tell.
 
  • #5
chasrob said:
Back in the 1960s-70s, didn't an astronomer claim to have detected a planet around Barnard's star; but later, others insisted it was a false detection?

Yes, that was Peter van de Kamp, who claimed Barnard's Star had two giant planets akin to Jupiter and Saturn.

Astronomers George Gatewood and Heinrich Eichhorn later cast doubt on those planets. The story appears in chapter 5 of Ken Croswell's book Planet Quest. The full account is much too long to quote here, but here's one especially entertaining paragraph:

Eichhorn thought the project a bad idea. Said Eichhorn, "I asked him, `Who was the second person who flew solo across the Atlantic?' He said he didn't know. And I told him he'd be as well remembered as that person." That's because Eichhorn was certain that Gatewood would simply repeat van de Kamp's work. "I fully expected the planets to be confirmed," said Eichhorn. "I hadn't the slightest doubt. Look at van de Kamp's original papers: they're perfectly convincing that the effect is there."

---from Planet Quest by Ken Croswell, page 95.

The new discovery may or may not hold up. Time will tell.
 
  • #6
CygnusX-1 said:
The new discovery may or may not hold up. Time will tell.
The Barnard`s star radial velocity signal is very noisy due star activity typical for small red dwarfs - what`s why the discovery was late despite proximity of the star itself and vast amount of resources used for discovery. The current candidate planet confidence is about 99% though, and it will either vanish or reach 99.9% in 3-4 years.
 
  • #7
phyzguy said:
Yes, that detection was proven false. But they think they have it right this time. Time will tell.
Is it possible that the "proven false" part may have been wrong?
 
  • #8
bob012345 said:
Is it possible that the "proven false" part may have been wrong?

The prediction is that a cyclic pattern will be there. If it is periodically not there then it was wrong.
 
  • #9
stefan r said:
The prediction is that a cyclic pattern will be there. If it is periodically not there then it was wrong.
What's false, that there is no planets or just that there is no confidence van de Kamp detected them?
 

1. What is Barnard's Star and why is it significant?

Barnard's Star is a red dwarf star located in the constellation Ophiuchus, approximately 6 light-years away from Earth. It is the second closest star to our solar system, after Proxima Centauri. Its significance lies in the fact that it is one of the most studied stars due to its close proximity to Earth.

2. What is a cold SuperEarth?

A cold SuperEarth is a type of exoplanet that is larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, with a rocky surface and a thick atmosphere. They are called cold SuperEarths because they are located in the outer regions of their solar systems, where temperatures are much colder compared to Earth.

3. How was the potential SuperEarth discovered around Barnard's Star?

The potential SuperEarth around Barnard's Star was discovered using the radial velocity method, which measures the slight wobble of a star caused by the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet. Scientists observed that Barnard's Star had a periodic wobble, indicating the presence of a planet orbiting around it.

4. Could the potential SuperEarth be habitable?

It is currently unknown whether the potential SuperEarth around Barnard's Star is habitable. However, scientists believe that it is unlikely due to its proximity to the star and the fact that it is a cold SuperEarth. Further research and observations are needed to determine its potential habitability.

5. How does the discovery of a potential SuperEarth around Barnard's Star contribute to our understanding of the universe?

The discovery of a potential SuperEarth around Barnard's Star adds to the growing list of exoplanets that have been discovered in recent years. This helps scientists to better understand the diversity and frequency of planets in our universe and provides valuable insights into the formation and evolution of planetary systems. It also opens up possibilities for further exploration and potential future missions to study these distant worlds.

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