Question 1

True or false: Barnard's Star was named after astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard.

Accepted Answer

True. He discovered its enormous proper motion in 1916, earning the star its name.

Question 2

True or false: Barnard's Star is a red dwarf that is brighter than our Sun.

Accepted Answer

False. It's a dim red dwarf with only about 0.0035 times the Sun's luminosity, far fainter.

Question 3

True or false: Barnard's Star is visible to the naked eye from a dark location.

Accepted Answer

False. At magnitude 9.5, it's far too dim; binoculars or a telescope are needed to spot it.

Question 4

True or false: Barnard's Star is the closest single star system to Earth after the Sun.

Accepted Answer

True. It's the fourth-nearest star system overall, but the nearest single star; Alpha Centauri is a triple system.

Question 5

True or false: Barnard's Star moves across the sky faster than any other known star.

Accepted Answer

True. Its proper motion is about 10.3 arcseconds per year, the highest of any star relative to the Sun.

Question 6

True or false: In 2018, a super-Earth exoplanet was confirmed orbiting Barnard's Star.

Accepted Answer

True. Barnard's Star b, a cold super-Earth with about 3.2 Earth masses, was confirmed that year.

Question 7

True or false: Barnard's Star's exoplanet is in the habitable zone where liquid water could exist.

Accepted Answer

False. It orbits far from the star, with a surface temperature around -170°C, far too cold for liquid water.

Question 8

True or false: Barnard's Star is slowly approaching the Sun and will become the closest star in 10,000 years.

Accepted Answer

True. It's approaching at about 140 km/s and will overtake Alpha Centauri around 11,800 CE.

Barnard's Star Trivia Questions