List of nearest stars
Encyclopedia
Brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth...
s at a distance of up to five parsec
Parsec
The parsec is a unit of length used in astronomy. It is about 3.26 light-years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres ....
s (16.308 light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s) from the Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, ordered by increasing distance. In addition to the Solar System, there are another 51 stellar systems currently known lying within this distance. These systems contain a total of 61 hydrogen-fusing star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s and 9 brown dwarf
Brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth...
s. Despite the relative proximity of these objects to the Earth, only nine of them have an apparent magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
less than 6.5, which means only about 13% of these objects can be observed with the naked eye
Naked eye
The naked eye is a figure of speech referring to human visual perception unaided by a magnifying or light-collecting optical device, such as a telescope or microscope. Vision corrected to normal acuity using corrective lenses is considered "naked"...
. Besides the Sun, only three are first-magnitude stars: Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus...
, Sirius
Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek: Seirios . The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris...
, and Procyon
Procyon
Procyon is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor. To the naked eye, it appears to be a single star, the seventh brightest in the night sky with a visual apparent magnitude of 0.34...
. All of these objects are located in the Local Bubble
Local Bubble
The Local Bubble is a cavity in the interstellar medium of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. It is at least 300 light years across and has a neutral hydrogen density of about 0.05 atoms per cubic centimetre, or approximately one tenth of the average for the ISM in the Milky Way , and half that for...
, a region within the Orion-Cygnus Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy.
List
Stars visible to the unaided eye have their magnitude shown in light blue below. The classes of the stars and brown dwarfs are shown in the color of their spectral types (these colors are derived from conventional names for the spectral types and do not represent the star's observed color). Some of the parallaxParallax
Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. The term is derived from the Greek παράλλαξις , meaning "alteration"...
and distance results are preliminary measurements.
| # | Designation | Stellar class Stellar classification In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure... |
Apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere... (mV UBV photometric system UBV photometric system, also called the Johnson system , is a wide band photometric system for classifying stars according to their colors. It is the first known standardized photoelectric photometric system. The letters U, B, and V stand for ultraviolet, blue, and visual magnitudes, which are... ) |
Absolute magnitude Absolute magnitude Absolute magnitude is the measure of a celestial object's intrinsic brightness. it is also the apparent magnitude a star would have if it were 32.6 light years away from Earth... (MV UBV photometric system UBV photometric system, also called the Johnson system , is a wide band photometric system for classifying stars according to their colors. It is the first known standardized photoelectric photometric system. The letters U, B, and V stand for ultraviolet, blue, and visual magnitudes, which are... ) |
Epoch Epoch (astronomy) In astronomy, an epoch is a moment in time used as a reference point for some time-varying astronomical quantity, such as celestial coordinates, or elliptical orbital elements of a celestial body, where these are subject to perturbations and vary with time... J2000.0 |
Parallax Parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. The term is derived from the Greek παράλλαξις , meaning "alteration"... Arcseconds(±err) Margin of error The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population... |
Distance Distance Distance is a numerical description of how far apart objects are. In physics or everyday discussion, distance may refer to a physical length, or an estimation based on other criteria . In mathematics, a distance function or metric is a generalization of the concept of physical distance... Light-year Light-year A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres... s (±err) Margin of error The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population... |
Additional references |
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| System | Star Star A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth... |
Star # | Right ascension Right ascension Right ascension is the astronomical term for one of the two coordinates of a point on the celestial sphere when using the equatorial coordinate system. The other coordinate is the declination.-Explanation:... |
Declination Declination In astronomy, declination is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. Declination in astronomy is comparable to geographic latitude, but projected onto the celestial sphere. Declination is measured in degrees north and... |
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| Solar System Solar System The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun... |
Sun Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields... |
G2V | −26.74 | 4.85 | variable: the Sun travels along the ecliptic Ecliptic The ecliptic is the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun. In more accurate terms, it is the intersection of the celestial sphere with the ecliptic plane, which is the geometric plane containing the mean orbit of the Earth around the Sun... |
180° | 0.000015 | has eight planets | |||
| 1 | Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus... (Rigil Kentaurus; Toliman) |
Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star about 4.2 light-years distant in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, the Director of the Union Observatory in South Africa, and is the nearest known star to the Sun, although it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye... (V645 Centauri) |
1 | M5.5Ve | 11.09 | 15.53 | 0.768 87(0 29)″ | 4.2421(16) | |||
| α Centauri A (HD 128620) | 2 | G2V | 0.01 | 4.38 | 0.747 23(1 17)″ | 4.3650(68) | |||||
| α Centauri B (HD 128621) | 2 | K1V | 1.34 | 5.71 | |||||||
| 2 | Barnard's Star Barnard's star Barnard's Star, also known occasionally as Barnard's "Runaway" Star, is a very low-mass red dwarf star approximately six light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Ophiuchus . In 1916, the American astronomer E.E... (BD+04°3561a) |
4 | M4.0Ve | 9.53 | 13.22 | 0.546 98(1 00)″ | 5.9630(109) | ||||
| 3 | Wolf 359 (CN Leonis) | 5 | M6.0V | 13.44 | 16.55 | 0.419 10(2 10)″ | 7.7825(390) | ||||
| 4 | Lalande 21185 Lalande 21185 Lalande 21185 is a red dwarf star in the constellation of Ursa Major. Although relatively close by, it is only magnitude 7 in visible light and thus is too dim to see with the unaided eye... (BD+36°2147) |
6 | M2.0V | 7.47 | 10.44 | 0.393 42(0 70)″ | 8.2905(148) | ||||
| 5 | Sirius Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek: Seirios . The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris... (α Canis Majoris) |
Sirius A | 7 | A1V | −1.46 | 1.42 | 0.380 02(1 28)″ | 8.5828(289) | |||
| Sirius B | 7 | DA2 White dwarf A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. They are very dense; a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint luminosity comes from the emission of stored... |
8.44 | 11.34 | |||||||
| 6 | Luyten 726-8 Luyten 726-8 Luyten 726-8 is a binary star system that is one of Earth's nearest neighbors, at about 8.7 light years from Earth in the constellation Cetus... |
Luyten 726-8 A (BL Ceti) | 9 | M5.5Ve | 12.54 | 15.40 | 0.373 70(2 70)″ | 8.7280(631) | |||
| Luyten 726-8 B (UV Ceti) | 10 | M6.0Ve | 12.99 | 15.85 | |||||||
| 7 | WISE 1541-2250 WISE 1541-2250 WISE 1541-2250 is a brown dwarf, located in constellation . It is one of six Y-type brown dwarfs among 106 brown dwarfs , discovered in 2011 by the Wide-field Infrared... |
11 | Y | 21.2 | 0.351″ ± 0.108″ | 9.3 +4.1/–2.2 | |||||
| 8 | Ross 154 Ross 154 Ross 154 is a red dwarf star approximately 3.0 pc or 9.68 light years from the Sun. It is the nearest star in the southern constellation Sagittarius, and one of the closest to the Sun... (V1216 Sagittarii) |
12 | M3.5Ve | 10.43 | 13.07 | 0.336 90(1 78)″ | 9.6813(512) | ||||
| 9 | Ross 248 (HH Andromedae) | 13 | M5.5Ve | 12.29 | 14.79 | 0.316 00(1 10)″ | 10.322(36) | ||||
| 10 | Epsilon Eridani Epsilon Eridani Epsilon Eridani is a star in the southern constellation Eridanus, along a declination 9.46° south of the celestial equator. This allows the star to be viewed from most of the Earth's surface. At a distance of 10.5 light years , it has an apparent magnitude of 3.73... (BD−09°697) |
14 | K2V | 3.73 | 6.19 | 0.309 99(0 79)″ | 10.522(27) | has two proposed planets | |||
| 11 | Lacaille 9352 Lacaille 9352 Lacaille 9352 is a red dwarf star approximately 3.29 pc or 10.74 light years from Earth's Solar System. This star has the fourth highest known proper motion, moving a total of 6.9 arcseconds per year... (CD−36°15693) |
15 | M1.5Ve | 7.34 | 9.75 | 0.303 64(0 87)″ | 10.742(31) | ||||
| 12 | Ross 128 Ross 128 Ross 128 is a red dwarf star that is the eleventh closest star system to the Solar System, at a distance of 10.89 light years. It was first cataloged in 1926 by Frank Elmore Ross.... (FI Virginis) |
16 | M4.0Vn | 11.13 | 13.51 | 0.298 72(1 35)″ | 10.919(49) | ||||
| 13 | EZ Aquarii EZ Aquarii EZ Aquarii is a triple star system approximately from the Sun in the constellation Aquarius. It is also known as Luyten 789-6 and Gliese 866 and all three components are M-type red dwarfs. The pair EZ Aquarii AC form a spectroscopic binary with a 3.8 day orbit and a 0.03 AU separation. This... (GJ 866, Luyten 789-6) |
EZ Aquarii A | 17 | M5.0Ve | 13.33 | 15.64 | 0.289 50(4 40)″ | 11.266(171) | |||
| EZ Aquarii B | 17 | M? | 13.27 | 15.58 | |||||||
| EZ Aquarii C | 17 | M? | 14.03 | 16.34 | |||||||
| 14 | Procyon Procyon Procyon is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor. To the naked eye, it appears to be a single star, the seventh brightest in the night sky with a visual apparent magnitude of 0.34... (α Canis Minoris) |
Procyon A | 20 | F5V-IV | 0.38 | 2.66 | 0.286 05(0 81)″ | 11.402(32) | |||
| Procyon B | 20 | DA White dwarf A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. They are very dense; a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint luminosity comes from the emission of stored... |
10.70 | 12.98 | |||||||
| 15 | 61 Cygni 61 Cygni 61 Cygni,Not to be confused with 16 Cygni, a more distant system containing two G-type stars harboring the gas giant planet 16 Cygni Bb. sometimes called Bessel's Star or Piazzi's Flying Star, is a binary star system in the constellation Cygnus... |
61 Cygni A (BD+38°4343) | 22 | K5.0V | 5.21 | 7.49 | 0.286 04(0 56)″ | 11.403(22) | first star (other than Sun) to have its distance measured | ||
| 61 Cygni B (BD+38°4344) | 22 | K7.0V | 6.03 | 8.31 | |||||||
| 16 | Struve 2398 Struve 2398 Struve 2398 is a binary star system in the constellation Draco. Both stars are red dwarfs and both display variability common to flare stars... (GJ 725, BD+59°1915) |
Struve 2398 A (HD 173739) | 24 | M3.0V | 8.90 | 11.16 | 0.283 00(1 69)″ | 11.525(69) | |||
| Struve 2398 B (HD 173740) | 24 | M3.5V | 9.69 | 11.95 | |||||||
| 17 | Groombridge 34 Groombridge 34 Groombridge 34 is a binary star system located about 11.7 light years from our own Sun. It consists of two red dwarf stars in a nearly circular orbit with a separation of about 147 astronomical units. Both stars in this pair exhibit variability due to random flares and they have been given variable... (GJ 15) |
Groombridge 34 A (GX Andromedae) | 26 | M1.5V | 8.08 | 10.32 | 0.280 59(0 95)″ | 11.624(39) | |||
| Groombridge 34 B (GQ Andromedae) | 26 | M3.5V | 11.06 | 13.30 | |||||||
| 18 | Epsilon Indi Epsilon Indi Epsilon Indi is a K-type main-sequence star approximately 12 light-years away in the constellation of Indus. Two brown dwarfs, found in 2003, orbit the star.- Observation :... (CPD−57°10015) |
Epsilon Indi A | 28 | K5Ve | 4.69 | 6.89 | 0.275 84(0 69)″ | 11.824(30) | |||
| Epsilon Indi Ba | 28 | T1.0V Brown dwarf Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth... |
>23 | >25 | |||||||
| Epsilon Indi Bb | 28 | T6.0V Brown dwarf Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth... |
>23 | >25 | |||||||
| 19 | DX Cancri DX Cancri DX Cancri is a red dwarf star that is about 9% of the mass of our Sun. It is a flare star that has intermittent changes in brightness by up to a fivefold increase.... (G 51-15) |
31 | M6.5Ve | 14.78 | 16.98 | 0.275 80(3 00)″ | 11.826(129) | ||||
| 20 | Tau Ceti Tau Ceti Tau Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus that is spectrally similar to the Sun, although it has only about 78% of the Sun's mass. At a distance of just under 12 light-years from the Solar System, it is a relatively close star. Tau Ceti is metal-deficient and so is thought to be less likely to... (BD−16°295) |
32 | G8Vp | 3.49 | 5.68 | 0.274 39(0 76)″ | 11.887(33) | ||||
| 21 | GJ 1061 GJ 1061 GJ 1061 is a small red dwarf star approximately 12 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Horologium... (LHS 1565) |
33 | M5.5V | 13.09 | 15.26 | 0.272 01(1 30)″ | 11.991(57) | ||||
| 22 | YZ Ceti YZ Ceti YZ Ceti is a red dwarf star in the constellation Cetus. Although it is relatively close to the Sun at just 12 light years, this star cannot be seen with the naked eye. It is classified as a flare star that undergoes intermittent fluctuations in luminosity... (LHS 138) |
34 | M4.5V | 12.02 | 14.17 | 0.268 84(2 95)″ | 12.132(133) | ||||
| 23 | Luyten's Star Luyten's Star Luyten's Star is a red dwarf star in the constellation Canis Minor. It is located at a distance of around 12.36 light-years and has a visual magnitude of 9.9, making it too faint to be viewed with the unaided eye. It is named after Willem Jacob Luyten, who first determined its proper motion.This... (BD+05°1668) |
35 | M3.5Vn | 9.86 | 11.97 | 0.263 76(1 25)″ | 12.366(59) | ||||
| 24 | Teegarden's star Teegarden's star Teegarden's Star, also known as SO J025300.5+165258, is an M-type red dwarf star or brown dwarf in the constellation Aries, located about 12 light years from the Solar System. Despite its proximity to Earth it is a dim magnitude 15 and can only be seen through large telescopes. This star was found... (SO025300.5+165258) |
36 | M6.5V | 15.14 | 17.22 | 0.260 63(2 69)″ | 12.514(129) | ||||
| 24 | SCR 1845-6357 SCR 1845-6357 SCR 1845-6357 is a binary system, about 12.6 light-years away in the constellation Pavo. The primary is a faint red dwarf star. It has a brown dwarf companion.-SCR 1845-6357 A:... |
SCR 1845-6357 A | 37 | M8.5V | 17.39 | 19.41 | 0.259 45(1 11)″ | 12.571(54) | |||
| SCR 1845-6357 B | 37 | T6 Brown dwarf Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth... |
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| 26 | Kapteyn's Star Kapteyn's Star Kapteyn's Star is a class M1 red dwarf star about 13 light years from Earth in the southern constellation of Pictor. With a magnitude of nearly 9 it is visible through binoculars or a telescope.-History:... (CD−45°1841) |
39 | M1.5V | 8.84 | 10.87 | 0.255 27(0 86)″ | 12.777(43) | ||||
| 27 | Lacaille 8760 (AX Microscopii) | 40 | M0.0V | 6.67 | 8.69 | 0.253 43(1 12)″ | 12.870(57) | ||||
| 28 | UGPS 0722-05 UGPS J072227.51-054031.2 UGPS J072227.51-054031.2 is a brown dwarf of late T type, located approximately from Earth. The astronomical object was discovered by Philip Lucas at the University of Hertfordshire and announced in 2010... |
41 | T10 | 16.52 | 13(1.5) | ||||||
| 29 | Kruger 60 Kruger 60 Kruger 60 is a binary star system located 13.15 light-years from the Sun. These red dwarf stars orbit each other every 44.6 years.The larger, primary star is designated component A, while the secondary, smaller star is labeled component B. Component A has about 27% of the Sun's mass and 35% of the... (BD+56°2783) |
Kruger 60 A | 42 | M3.0V | 9.79 | 11.76 | 0.248 06(1 39)″ | 13.149(74) | |||
| Kruger 60 B (DO Cephei) | 42 | M4.0V | 11.41 | 13.38 | |||||||
| 30 | DEN 1048-3956 | 42 | M8.5V | 17.39 | 19.37 | 0.247 71(1 55)″ | 13.167(82) | ||||
| 31 | Ross 614 Ross 614 Ross 614 or Gliese 234A is a red dwarf UV Cetiflare star and it is the primary member of a nearby binary star system in the constellation of Monoceros. This star has an magnitude of about 11, making it invisible to the unaided eye even though it is one of the stars nearest to the sun... (V577 Monocerotis, GJ 234) |
Ross 614A (LHS 1849) | 45 | M4.5V | 11.15 | 13.09 | 0.244 34(2 01)″ | 13.349(110) | |||
| Ross 614B (LHS 1850) | 45 | M5.5V | 14.23 | 16.17 | |||||||
| 32 | Wolf 1061 (GJ 628, BD−12°4523) | 47 | M3.0V | 10.07 | 11.93 | 0.236 01(1 67)″ | 13.820(98) | ||||
| 33 | Van Maanen's star Van Maanen's star Van Maanen's star is a white dwarf star. Out of the white dwarfs known, it is the third closest to the Sun, after Sirius B and Procyon B, in that order, and the closest known solitary white dwarf... (GJ 35, LHS 7) |
48 | DZ7 White dwarf A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. They are very dense; a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint luminosity comes from the emission of stored... |
12.38 | 14.21 | 0.231 88(1 79)″ | 14.066(109) | ||||
| 34 | Gliese 1 (CD−37°15492) | 49 | M3.0V | 8.55 | 10.35 | 0.229 20(1 07)″ | 14.231(66) | ||||
| 35 | Wolf 424 Wolf 424 Wolf 424 is a binary star system comprising two red dwarf stars at a distance of approximately 14.2 light years from the Sun. It is located in the constellation Virgo, between the stars ε Virginis and δ Virginis.... (FL Virginis, LHS 333, GJ 473) |
Wolf 424 A | 50 | M5.5Ve | 13.18 | 14.97 | 0.227 90(4 60)″ | 14.312(289) | |||
| Wolf 424 B | 50 | M7Ve | 13.17 | 14.96 | |||||||
| 36 | TZ Arietis TZ Arietis TZ Arietis is a red dwarf star in the constellation Aries. It is too faint to be seen by the naked eye, although it lies relatively close to our Sun at a distance of about 14.5 light years. It is a flare star, which means it can suddenly increase in brightness for short periods of time.-External... (GJ 83.1, Luyten 1159-16) |
52 | M4.5V | 12.27 | 14.03 | 0.224 80(2 90)″ | 14.509(187) | ||||
| 37 | GJ 687 (LHS 450, BD+68°946) | 53 | M3.0V | 9.17 | 10.89 | 0.220 49(0 82)″ | 14.793(55) | ||||
| 38 | LHS 292 (LP 731-58) | 54 | M6.5V | 15.60 | 17.32 | 0.220 30(3 60)″ | 14.805(242) | ||||
| 39 | GJ 674 (LHS 449) | 55 | M3.0V | 9.38 | 11.09 | 0.220 25(1 59)″ | 14.809(107) | has a planet | |||
| 40 | GJ 1245 GJ 1245 GJ 1245 or V1581 Cygni is a triple star system, 14 light-years away, relatively close to our Solar System. All of the stars are rather dim... |
GJ 1245 A | 56 | M5.5V | 13.46 | 15.17 | 0.220 20(1 00)″ | 14.812(67) | |||
| GJ 1245 B | 56 | M6.0V | 14.01 | 15.72 | |||||||
| GJ 1245 C | 56 | M5.5 | 16.75 | 18.46 | |||||||
| 41 | WISE J1741+2553 | 59 | ~T8-T10 | ~14 | 15 (±3.6) | ||||||
| 42 | GJ 440 GJ 440 GJ 440 is a white dwarf star located 15 light years from the solar system... (WD 1142-645) |
60 | DQ6 White dwarf A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. They are very dense; a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint luminosity comes from the emission of stored... |
11.50 | 13.18 | 0.216 57(2 01)″ | 15.060(140) | ||||
| 43 | GJ 1002 GJ 1002 GJ 1002 is a red dwarf star. It is located relatively near our Sun, at a distance of 15.31 light years, in the constellation Cetus.This appears to be a relatively quiescent star, and no flare activity has been detected.-External links:*... |
61 | M5.5V | 13.76 | 15.40 | 0.213 00(3 60)″ | 15.313(259) | ||||
| 44 | Gliese 876 Gliese 876 Gliese 876 is a red dwarf star approximately 15 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. As of 2011, it has been confirmed that four extrasolar planets orbit the star... (Ross 780) |
62 | M3.5V | 10.17 | 11.81 | 0.212 59(1 96)″ | 15.342(141) | has four planets | |||
| 45 | LHS 288 LHS 288 LHS 288 is a red dwarf star, the closest star to our Sun in the constellation Carina at a distance of 15.6 light years. It is far too faint to be seen with the unaided eye, with an apparent magnitude of 13.92. Recent studies suggest it may harbour a planet with the mass of Jupiter.-External... (Luyten 143-23) |
63 | M5.5V | 13.90 | 15.51 | 0.208 95(2 73)″ | 15.610(204) | ||||
| 46 | GJ 412 | GJ 412 A | 64 | M1.0V | 8.77 | 10.34 | 0.206 02(1 08)″ | 15.832(83) | |||
| GJ 412 B (WX Ursae Majoris) | 64 | M5.5V | 14.48 | 16.05 | |||||||
| 47 | Groombridge 1618 Groombridge 1618 Groombridge 1618 is a star in the constellation Ursa Major. It is located close to Earth, at a distance of less than 16 light years. This is an orange dwarf star of spectral type K5 V.-Properties:... (GJ 380) |
66 | K7.0V | 6.59 | 8.16 | 0.205 81(0 67)″ | 15.848(52) | ||||
| 48 | AD Leonis | 67 | M3.0V | 9.32 | 10.87 | 0.204 60(2 80)″ | 15.942(218) | ||||
| 49 | GJ 832 | 68 | M3.0V | 8.66 | 10.20 | 0.202 78(1 32)″ | 16.085(105) | has a planet | |||
| 50 | LP 944-020 | 69 | M9.0V | 18.50 | 20.02 | 0.201 40(4 20)″ | 16.195(338) | ||||
| 51 | DEN 0255-4700 DEN 0255-4700 DENIS 0255-4700 is an extremely faint brown dwarf about 16 light years from the Solar System in the southern constellation of Eridanus. It is the closest spectral class L brown dwarf to the Earth. Its proximity to the Solar System was discovered by the RECONS group in 2006.-External links:*... |
70 | L7.5V Brown dwarf Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth... |
22.92 | 24.44 | 0.201 37(3 89)″ | 16.197(313) | ||||
| # | System | Star Star A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth... |
Star # | Stellar class Stellar classification In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure... |
Apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere... (mV UBV photometric system UBV photometric system, also called the Johnson system , is a wide band photometric system for classifying stars according to their colors. It is the first known standardized photoelectric photometric system. The letters U, B, and V stand for ultraviolet, blue, and visual magnitudes, which are... ) |
Absolute magnitude Absolute magnitude Absolute magnitude is the measure of a celestial object's intrinsic brightness. it is also the apparent magnitude a star would have if it were 32.6 light years away from Earth... (MV UBV photometric system UBV photometric system, also called the Johnson system , is a wide band photometric system for classifying stars according to their colors. It is the first known standardized photoelectric photometric system. The letters U, B, and V stand for ultraviolet, blue, and visual magnitudes, which are... ) |
Right ascension Right ascension Right ascension is the astronomical term for one of the two coordinates of a point on the celestial sphere when using the equatorial coordinate system. The other coordinate is the declination.-Explanation:... |
Declination Declination In astronomy, declination is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. Declination in astronomy is comparable to geographic latitude, but projected onto the celestial sphere. Declination is measured in degrees north and... |
Parallax Parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. The term is derived from the Greek παράλλαξις , meaning "alteration"... Arcseconds(±err) Margin of error The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population... |
Distance Distance Distance is a numerical description of how far apart objects are. In physics or everyday discussion, distance may refer to a physical length, or an estimation based on other criteria . In mathematics, a distance function or metric is a generalization of the concept of physical distance... Light-year Light-year A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres... s (±err) Margin of error The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population... |
Additional references |
| Designation | Epoch Epoch (astronomy) In astronomy, an epoch is a moment in time used as a reference point for some time-varying astronomical quantity, such as celestial coordinates, or elliptical orbital elements of a celestial body, where these are subject to perturbations and vary with time... J2000.0 |
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Map of nearby stars
The following map shows all of the star systems within 14 light-years of the Sun (shown as Sol), except for two brown dwarfs discovered after 2009. Double and triple stars are shown "stacked", but the true location is the star closest to the central plane. Color corresponds to the table above..svg.png)
Future and past
Ross 248, currently at a distance of 10.3 light-years, has a radial velocityRadial velocity
Radial velocity is the velocity of an object in the direction of the line of sight . In astronomy, radial velocity most commonly refers to the spectroscopic radial velocity...
of −81 km/s. In about 31,000 years it may be the closest star to the Sun for several millennia, with a minimum distance of 0.927 pc in 36,000 years. AC+79 3888
AC+79 3888
AC+79 3888 is an M-type main sequence star in the constellation of Camelopardalis, close to Polaris. It has no name other than its catalog designations. AC+79 3888 is currently 17.6 light-years from the Sun and has an apparent magnitude of 10.8...
(Gliese 445), currently at a distance of 17.6 light-years, has a radial velocity of −119 km/s. In about 40,000 years it will be the closest star for a period of several thousand years.
See also
- Interstellar travelInterstellar travelInterstellar space travel is manned or unmanned travel between stars. The concept of interstellar travel in starships is a staple of science fiction. Interstellar travel is much more difficult than interplanetary travel. Intergalactic travel, or travel between different galaxies, is even more...
- List of brightest stars
- List of nearest bright stars
- List of nearest galaxies
- Lists of stars
- Nearby Stars DatabaseNearby Stars DatabaseThe Nearby Stars Database began as a NASA project in 1998 and is now based at Northern Arizona University.-Stated Goal:The stated mission of NStars "is to be a complete and accurate source of scientific data about all stellar systems within 25 parsecs."The website includes search tools and links...
- The Magnificent Seven (neutron stars)The Magnificent Seven (neutron stars)The Magnificent Seven is the informal name of a group of isolated young cooling neutron stars near to Earth . These objects are also known under the names XDINS and XTINS .-History:The first to fit this classification was RX J1856.5-3754, which was discovered by Walter et al...
External links
- "The 100 nearest star systems", Research Consortium on Nearby StarsResearch Consortium on Nearby StarsThe Research Consortium on Nearby Stars is an international group of astronomers founded in 1994 to investigate the stars nearest to the Solar System - those within 10 parsecs...