Astronomers have discovered not one, but four tiny planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, our cosmic neighbor. These planets, each about a fifth the mass of Earth, whip around their host star in just days—likely too hot for life but a major milestone in detecting smaller planets.

The recent findings up the number of exoplanets orbiting Barnard’s Star from one to at least three, possibly four, as researchers were able to use the MAROON-X instrument on the Gemini North telescope to confirm the existence of planets that were previously only candidates.

Astronomers have been looking for exoplanets orbiting Barnard's Star, the nearest solitary star to Earth at just 5.96 light-years away, since its discovery in 1916. Unconvincing signs of planets in the lonely star's orbit have been reported previously,