TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY PATRICK GALEY / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ESO" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
A handout picture released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on November 13, 2018, shows a wide-field image of the surroundings of the red dwarf known as Barnard’s Star in the constellation of Ophiuchus (the Serpent-Bearer), where a "super-Earth" planet has been discovered. This picture was created from material forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The centre of the image shows Barnard’s Star captured in three different exposures. The star is the fastest moving star in the night sky and its large apparent motion can be seen as its position changes between successive observations — shown in red, yellow and blue. - A "super-Earth" has been discovered orbiting the closest single star to our own Sun, scientists said on November 14, 2018, in a breakthrough that could shine a light on Earth's nearest planetary neighbours. Astronomers studied Barnard's Star, a red dwarf just six light years away -- practically in our back garden, galactically speaking -- and noticed the presence of a "frozen, dimly lit world" at least 3.2 times heavier than Earth. The planet, known for now as Barnard's Star b, is the second nearest to Earth outside the Solar System and orbits its host star once every 233 days. (Photo by Handout / European Southern Observatory / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ESO" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS