Nearest Exoplanets to Earth

About This Dataset

This chart ranks the nearest confirmed exoplanets to the Solar System by the distance to their host star, in light-years. Proxima Centauri b, orbiting our closest stellar neighbour, is the nearest known exoplanet.

✨ AI Insight

Proxima Centauri b, at 4.25 light-years, is the closest known exoplanet, orbiting the Sun's nearest stellar neighbour within its star's habitable zone. Barnard's Star b (5.96 light-years) is next, circling a famous nearby red dwarf. Beyond these two a gap opens to a cluster of worlds between about 10.7 and 15 light-years, including Gliese 887 b, Ross 128 b, YZ Ceti b and Wolf 1061 c. Nearly all these nearby exoplanets orbit small, cool red-dwarf stars, simply because such stars are the most common in the solar neighbourhood. Even the closest, Proxima b, lies so far away that reaching it with current spacecraft would take tens of thousands of years, which is why the study of nearby exoplanets relies on telescopes rather than travel.

Source: List of nearest exoplanets

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Gliese 674 b leads with 15 in All Time.

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Average value in All Time: 11 · median: 11.

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Gap in All Time: Gliese 674 b is 3.5× larger than Proxima Centauri b.