Second-closest star to the Sun, six light 
years away in the constellation Ophiuchus.
It is a faint red dwarf of 9th magnitude,
visible only through a telescope. It is
named after the US astronomer Edward E
Barnard (1857-1923), who discovered in
1916 that it has the fastest proper motion
of any star, crossing 1 degree of sky every
350 years. Some observations suggest that 
Barnard's star may be accompanied by planets.