Early life around New Planet Barnard b

Early life around New Planet Barnard b

Question: Name the planet around which early life is discovered recently?
(a) Barnard b
(b) Kerberos
(c) Valetudo
(d) Hyrrokkin
Answer: (a)
Related facts:

  • In the 233rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Seattle, Washington held on 10th January, 2019 it was disclosed that its new-found planet labeled Barnard b (GJ 699 b) have the potential to nurse primitive life.
  • Barnard’s star is the nearest single star (and now the second-nearest star system) to our own sun at only six light-years away.
  • Barnard’s star is a low-mass red dwarf star & only emits a fraction of the energy our sun puts out. Barnard’s Star is about 9 billion years old (twice as old as the sun).
  • Barnard b is super-Earth exoplanet orbiting the legendary Barnard’s Star. It is about three times the mass of Earth and orbits the star every 233 days.
  • The team of researchers also evaluated the amount of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation the star’s planet would receive at its distance of 0.4 astronomical units (1 astronomical unit (AU)=Distance between Earth-sun) to determine the effects on any atmosphere Barnard b might host.
  • A young star like Barnard b rotates faster & emit more ultraviolet & X-Ray radiation as compared to when it is older.
  • Currently, Barnard b only receives about 2 % the radiation Earth receives from the Sun, and is a cold world with a surface temperature of nearly -275 ℉ (-170 ℃).

Links:
http://www.astronomy.com/news/2019/01/life-might-exist-on-the-new-planet-discovered-around-barnards-star
https://earthsky.org/space/barnard-star-planet-primitive-life-heat