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Table · dataset · 2019

Barnard's star radial velocity curve

Listed in IVOA Registry (Virtual Observatory)

Barnard's star is a red dwarf, and has the largest proper motion (apparent motion across the sky) of all known stars.

Description

At a distance of 1.8 parsecs, it is the closest single star to the Sun; only the three stars in the {alpha} Centauri system are closer. Barnard's star is also among the least magnetically active red dwarfs known and has an estimated age older than the Solar System.

Its properties make it a prime target for planetary searches; various techniques with different sensitivity limits have been used previously, including radial-velocity imaging, astrometry and direct imaging, but all ultimately led to negative or null results. Here we combine numerous measurements from high-precision radial-velocity instruments, revealing the presence of a low-amplitude periodic signal with a period of 233 days.

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Independent photometric and spectroscopic monitoring, as well as an analysis of instrumental systematic effects, suggest that this signal is best explained as arising from a planetary companion. The candidate planet around Barnard's star is a cold super-Earth, with a minimum mass of 3.2 times that of Earth, orbiting near its snow line (the minimum distance from the star at which volatile compounds could condense). The combination of all radial-velocity datasets spanning 20 years of measurements additionally reveals a long-term modulation that could arise from a stellar magnetic-activity cycle or from a more distant planetary object.

Because of its proximity to the Sun, the candidate planet has a maximum angular separation of 220 milliarcseconds from Barnard's star, making it an excellent target for direct imaging and astrometric observations in the future.

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Provenance · 1 source records, 8 field assertions
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IVOA Registry (Virtual Observatory)ivo://cds.vizier/j/other/nat/563.36515 d agoJSON v1
FieldAssertionExtractorEvidence
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concepts[modality].local:modality:imagingenrichment · IVOA Registrykeyword-concept-rules@1.0.0title+description (75%)
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