Cold ‘Super-Earth’ Exoplanet Discovered

London: An international team of researchers have discovered a cold super-Earth exoplanet orbiting around the red dwarf Barnard — the second closest star system to Earth. The new planet candidate, called Barnard’s star b (or GJ 699 b), is a super-Earth with a minimum of 3.2 Earth masses. It orbits its red star every 233 days near the snow-line, a distance where water freezes. Lacking atmosphere, its temperature is likely to be about minus 170 degrees Celsius, which makes it unlikely that the planet can sustain liquid water on the surface. Barnard’s star, which is just six light-years away, moves in Earth’s night sky faster than any other star. (IANS)

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