Researchers spotted a small, rocky planet orbiting the red dwarf known as Barnard’s Star, which is about 6 light years away from Earth.

The red giant phase is pretty crazy. The star's outer atmosphere can expand to hundreds of times its initial size; some projections of the Sun's future – due to start becoming a red giant in about 5 billion years or so – predict it could grow as large as out to the orbit of Mars, engulfing Mercury, Venus, and Earth in the process.

Claims of worlds orbiting Barnard’s star have been made before. But an advanced instrument could provide the breakthrough that finally confirms the star hosts a planetary system

Astronomers found a new exoplanet orbiting Barnard’s Star. The planet, Barnard b, completes its orbit in 3.15 days.