There is a planet just 6 light years away

It’s that time again – your weekly hit of the best stories in science and technology from New Scientist. Read on to learn about far away planets, the future of war, and our upcoming extravaganza, New Scientist Live.

Planet spotted orbiting Barnard's star just 6 light years away

Astronomers hunting for worlds beyond our solar system have often found it easy to spot exoplanets around large, far away stars, rather than picking out ones in our cosmic neighbourhood. It was only in 2016 that we first confirmed a planet in the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, but efforts to uncover ones orbiting the next closest, known as Barnard’s star, proved inconclusive. Now, we are pretty sure there is at least one planet, there, and possible three more .

Drone versus drone combat is bringing a new kind of warfare to Ukraine

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has already been called the “first drone war” thanks to the proliferation of the technology, but that has now kicked up a notch. While drones were initially used to fight human soldiers, machines are now going head to head with machines in a new kind of warfare that could eventually leave people on the sidelines.

Ancient plankton suggests extreme El Ni?os will become twice as common

Tiny fossils have helped validate our understanding El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a cycle between warmer- and cooler-than-average temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that plays a key role in the global climate. These preserved plankton serve as a record of past cooler ocean temperatures, when the ENSO was thought to be weaker, and suggest a warming world will see the cycle becoming more intense .

More from New Scientist

• Neuroscientist Dean Burnett argues that it is parents who are being made anxious by smartphones, not teenagers.
• Our magazine cover story this week takes a look at whether technology can fix democracy.
• Next week is New Scientist Live, our big show of the year. Come join us in London, or watch talks online

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Jacob Aron, News Editor?