The ten nearest confirmed exoplanets all orbit red dwarfs within about 11 light-years of the Sun, led by two worlds circling Proxima Centauri.
Quick answer: 1. Proxima Centauri d, 2. Proxima Centauri b, 3. Barnard's Star d, 4. Barnard's Star b, 5. Barnard's Star c, 6. Barnard's Star e, 7. Lalande 21185 b, 8. Lalande 21185 c, 9. Epsilon Eridani b (Aegir), 10. Gliese 887 b.
Every confirmed planet on this list orbits a star in our immediate galactic neighborhood — none more than about 11 light-years away. Because a planet sits at the same distance as its host star, systems with multiple planets (Proxima Centauri, Barnard's Star, Lalande 21185) appear as clusters at a shared distance, and eight of these ten worlds circle just three stars. This is a snapshot of the closest exoplanets astronomers have actually confirmed, ranked purely by how far their host stars lie from Earth. It is written for anyone curious about which real, cataloged worlds are our nearest planetary neighbors — the targets that next-generation telescopes will scrutinize first.
Ties for the closest known exoplanet at 4.2465 light-years, orbiting the Sun's nearest stellar neighbor. It ranks first as the innermost confirmed planet of the system, on a tight 5.12-day orbit, and is a sub-Earth first reported from ESPRESSO data in 2022 and independently confirmed with the NIRPS spectrograph in 2025.
The exoplanet whose 2016 discovery made it famous: a roughly Earth-mass world in Proxima Centauri's habitable zone, found by radial velocity. It shares the star's 4.2465-light-year distance and ranks just behind d only because it orbits farther out, on an 11.19-day period.
The innermost of four sub-Earth planets confirmed around Barnard's Star, the nearest single star to the Sun at 5.9629 light-years, on a rapid 2.34-day orbit. Barnard's planets were announced from ESPRESSO/VLT radial velocities in 2024 and confirmed by an independent MAROON-X study in 2025.
The first-announced and best-characterized of Barnard's Star's four sub-Earth planets, on a 3.15-day orbit. It was reported in October 2024 from ESPRESSO/VLT radial velocities and confirmed by an independent MAROON-X study in 2025; it shares the star's 5.9629-light-year distance.
The third of Barnard's Star's four confirmed sub-Earth planets by orbital distance, on a 4.12-day orbit. It sits at the same 5.9629-light-year stellar distance as its siblings, measured from Gaia parallax.
The outermost and lightest of the four Barnard's Star planets, on a 6.74-day orbit. At about 0.19 Earth masses it is one of the lowest-mass planets ever found by radial velocity.
A super-Earth and the innermost of two confirmed planets around the red dwarf Lalande 21185, at about 8.31 light-years. It was detected by radial velocity and refined by later observations.
The outer confirmed planet of Lalande 21185, a Neptune-mass world on a multi-year orbit of about 2,946 days. It shares the star's 8.31-light-year distance from Earth.
A Jupiter-mass gas giant and the only confirmed planet of Epsilon Eridani, formally named Aegir. A close analog to our own Jupiter, it orbits once every roughly 7.3 years; its mass is given in Earth masses (about 318) to match the shared fact key.
The innermost confirmed planet of Gliese 887, one of the brightest and quietest nearby red dwarfs at about 10.72 light-years. A super-Earth on a 9.3-day orbit, it was announced in 2020.
| # | Name | hostStar | minimumMass | orbitalPeriodDays | discoveryYear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proxima Centauri d | Proxima Centauri | 0.26 Earth masses | 5.12 | 2022 |
| 2 | Proxima Centauri b | Proxima Centauri | 1.07 Earth masses | 11.19 | 2016 |
| 3 | Barnard's Star d | Barnard's Star | 0.26 Earth masses | 2.34 | 2025 |
| 4 | Barnard's Star b | Barnard's Star | 0.30 Earth masses | 3.15 | 2024 |
| 5 | Barnard's Star c | Barnard's Star | 0.34 Earth masses | 4.12 | 2025 |
| 6 | Barnard's Star e | Barnard's Star | 0.19 Earth masses | 6.74 | 2025 |
| 7 | Lalande 21185 b | Lalande 21185 | 2.69 Earth masses | 12.94 | 2019 |
| 8 | Lalande 21185 c | Lalande 21185 | 13.6 Earth masses | 2946 | 2021 |
| 9 | Epsilon Eridani b (Aegir) | Epsilon Eridani | 318 Earth masses | 2688 | 2000 |
| 10 | Gliese 887 b | Gliese 887 | 3.9 Earth masses | 9.26 | 2020 |
Items are ranked by the distance from Earth to the host star, in light-years, with the nearest star at rank 1 (metricDirection "asc"). Stellar distances come from Gaia parallax measurements as aggregated by the NASA Exoplanet Archive and Wikipedia's List of Nearest Exoplanets. Distance is a property of the host star, so all confirmed planets sharing a star share a distance; within-system ties are broken by orbital distance from the star, innermost (shortest orbital period) first. Inclusion criteria: only confirmed exoplanets (not unconfirmed candidates) around stars within roughly 11 light-years, taken from the top of the nearest-exoplanets catalog. Values: Proxima Centauri 4.2465 ly, Barnard's Star 5.9629 ly, Lalande 21185 8.31 ly, Epsilon Eridani 10.47 ly, and Gliese 887 10.72 ly.
Proxima Centauri d and Proxima Centauri b are the closest confirmed exoplanets, both orbiting Proxima Centauri at 4.2465 light-years. They share the same distance because distance is measured to the host star; d is listed first as the innermost planet, while b is the roughly Earth-mass world in the star's habitable zone.
One light-year is about 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion km), so Proxima Centauri's 4.2465 light-years is roughly 25 trillion miles. Even at the speed of light it would take over four years to reach; with current spacecraft it would take tens of thousands of years.
Distance here is the distance from Earth to the host star, measured by Gaia parallax. Every confirmed planet orbiting the same star therefore has an identical distance, so multi-planet systems like Proxima Centauri, Barnard's Star, and Lalande 21185 appear as tied clusters, broken by orbital distance from the star.
Proxima Centauri b orbits within its star's habitable zone, the region where liquid water could exist, which is why it draws so much attention. Habitability also depends on factors like atmosphere and stellar flares, which remain unconfirmed for these worlds; this list reports measured distances, not habitability judgments.