New planet discovered orbiting a star close to Earth

Barnard b is only six light years away (Picture: ESO/M. Kornmesser)Astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting the closest solo star to Earth. The solo star, which is known as Barnard’s star, is a red dwarf which is around 80% smaller than our sun and sits around six light years away from our solar system. The newly discovered planet, dubbed Barnard b, has half the mass of Venus, and a year on it lasts slightly more than three Earth days.The astronomers published their findings