Barnard's star

American  

[bahr-nerdz] / ˈbɑr nərdz /

noun

1. a red dwarf star of magnitude 9.5 in the constellation Ophiuchus, having the largest known proper motion and being the nearest star to earth (5.9 light-years) beyond the Alpha Centauri system.

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Barnard's star British  

noun

1. a red dwarf star in the constellation Ophiuchus having the largest proper motion known

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Barnard's star Scientific  

/ bär′nərdz /

1. A dim, main-sequence red dwarf in the constellation Ophiuchus that is the second nearest star to Earth after the Alpha-Centauri system. Although it is only 5.98 light-years from our solar system, it is too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. Barnard's star has a greater proper motion (movement with respect to the background stars that is caused by an object's own motion rather than by how it is viewed from Earth) than any other star. Barnard's star is named for its identifier, American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard (1857–1923).

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Etymology

Origin of Barnard's star

After Edward E. Barnard (1857–1923), American astronomer, its discoverer

Example Sentences

After carefully observing and studying the data from the instrument for more than 3 years, the team found solid evidence of four exoplanets around Barnard's star.

From Space Scoop • Apr. 23, 2025

Barnard’s star, named after the astronomer, is a red dwarf floating in our Solar System’s neighbourhood.

From Space Scoop • Apr. 23, 2025

By contrast, Barnard's star is the closest solo star to our own.

From Salon • Oct. 4, 2024

It orbits Barnard's star, which sits "just" six light-years away.

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2018

The third star is Barnard's star with M = 11.7, both being, together with α Centauri, also the nearest of all known stars.

From Lectures on Stellar Statistics by Charlier, Carl Vilhelm Ludvig