About Barnard c
Barnard c is a rare exoplanet. It lies about 6 light-years from Earth, has an equilibrium temperature near 400 K, spans roughly 0.74 Earth radii and weighs about 0.34 Earth masses.
One of the closest objects of its kind to the Sun.
Rare exoplanet 36 EP
Barnard c
RA 269.4486° · Dec 4.7380° · exoplanet
Score breakdown
· 3 badgesRare 46 pts → Epic
- Stellar next door (<10 ly) +25
- Multi-planet system +6
- Confirmed exoplanet +5
Total score 36
10 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Confirmed exoplanet · +5
- Multi-planet system · +6
- Stellar next door (<10 ly) · +25
Trivia
What makes it special
- Next-door neighbour. One of the closest objects of its kind to the Sun.
Could we get there?
- Verdict. A multi-generation starship could one day attempt the crossing.
Getting there
- Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 104.7 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
- Fastest probe ever. ≈ 9302 years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.
- At 10% light speed. ≈ 59.6 years in a starship at a tenth of light speed.
- Distance. 6 light-years from Earth.
Look-back time
- Look-back time. The light you'd see left around the year 2020.
Saying hello
- Say hello. A radio message and its reply would take 11.9 years round-trip.
Standing on it
- A year here. A full year lasts just 4.1 Earth days.
By the numbers
- Size. Around 74% of Earth's width.
- Mass. About 0.3× the mass of Earth.
- Your weight. You'd weigh about 0.6× your Earth weight standing here.
- Temperature. A scorching 127°C on average.
How we found it
- Discovery. Found by Gemini Observatory using the radial velocity method.
Cosmic context
- Crowded system. One of at least 4 planets orbiting its star.
Properties
- density gcc
- 4.49
- discovery facility
- Gemini Observatory
- discovery method
- Radial Velocity
- dist ly
- 5.9574
- eccentricity
- 0.08
- eq temp k
- 400
- insolation
- 4.7285
- mass earth
- 0.335
- name
- Barnard c
- orbital period days
- 4.1244
- radius earth
- 0.743
- sys num planets
- 4
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, Barnard c is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why Barnard c is a rare exoplanet
Barnard c scores 36 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 10 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Confirmed exoplanet, Multi-planet system and Stellar next door (<10 ly) — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.