Barnard’s Star has fascinated astronomers for decades. At just six light-years away, it is the second-closest single star to our own Sun. Now, two separate research teams have found solid evidence that four tiny planets—each less than half the mass of Earth—circle this nearby star at incredibly close distances.

Astronomers have detected four small planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, one of the closest stars to Earth, at just six light-years away. This discovery, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, marks a significant step in the search for rocky exoplanets beyond our solar system.