Exciting new research suggests there are four miniature planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, each thought to be just 20 to 30% the mass of Earth.

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.

The four exoplanets orbit Barnard’s Star so closely that their years last only a few Earth days. They are probably rocky and, given their proximity to the star, uninhabitable. In fact, the 2024 study estimates Barnard b’s surface temperature to be a balmy 257 degrees Fahrenheit (125 degrees Celsius).