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Encyclopedia > List of nearest stars

This list of the nearest stars to Earth is ordered by increasing distance out to a maximum of 5 parsecs (16.308 light years). Including the sun, there are currently 63 stars known to lie within this distance. Stellar parallax motion The parsec (symbol pc) is a unit of length used in astronomy. ... A light year, abbreviated ly, is the distance light travels in one year: roughly 9. ...


Stars with an apparent magnitude greater than 6.5, and which consequently cannot be observed with the naked eye, are shown in dark grey. The stellar class is shown in the color of the star's spectral classification. Parallax and distance results in red are only preliminary measurements. // Headline text HEY!! HOW ARE YOU ALL?? Its nice of you to come read this page. ... The naked eye is a figure of speech referring to human visual perception that is unaided by enhancing equipment, such as a telescope or binoculars. ... In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based initially on photospheric temperature and its associated spectral characteristics, and subsequenly refined in terms of other characteristics. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Designation Stellar class m M RA Dec Parallax(Arcsec) Distance from Earth (ly) Sources
System Star
Sun (Sol) G2V -26.72 4.85 — — 180° 1.58125×10-5
(8:19.005)
Alpha Centauri Proxima Centauri (V645 Centauri) M5.5Ve 11.01 15.53 14h 29m 43s −62° 40′ 46″ 0.768 9(0 3)″ 4.2420(16) H, Y, B
Alpha Centauri A (Rigil Kentaurus; Toliman) G2V -0.01 4.38 14h 39m 37s −60° 50′ 2″ 0.747 2(1 2)″ 4.3649(69) S, Y
Alpha Centauri B (HD 128621) K0V 1.35 5.71 14h 39m 35s −60° 50′ 14″
Barnard's Star (BD+04°3561a) M4.0Ve 9.53 13.22 17h 55m 23s +04° 33′ 18″ 0.547 0(1 0)″ 5.9629(110) H, Y
Wolf 359 (CN Leonis) M6.0V 13.44 16.55 10h 56m 28s +07° 00′ 42″ 0.419 1(2 1)″ 7.7823(390) Y
Lalande 21185 (BD+36°2147) M2.0V 7.47 10.44 11h 00m 37s +36° 18′ 20″ 0.393 4(0 7)″ 8.2903(148) H, Y
Sirius Sirius A (Alpha Canis Majoris) A1V -1.43 1.47 06h 45m 09s −16° 42′ 58″ 0.380 0(1 3)″ 8.5826(290) H, Y
Sirius B DA2 8.44 11.34
Luyten 726-8 UV Ceti (L 726-8 B) M5.5Ve 12.54 15.40 01h 39m 01s +17° 57′ 00″ 0.373 7(2 7)″ 8.7278(631) Y
BL Ceti (L 726-8 A) M6.0Ve 12.99 15.85
Ross 154 (V1216 Sagittarii) M3.5Ve 10.43 13.07 18h 49m 49s +23° 50′ 11″ 0.336 9(1 8)″ 9.6811(512) H, Y
Ross 248 (HH Andromedae) M5.5Ve 12.29 14.79 23h 41m 54s +44° 09′ 32″ 0.316 0(1 1)″ 10.321(36) Y
Epsilon Eridani (BD-09°697) K2V 3.73 6.19 03h 32m 56s −09° 27′ 30″ 0.310 0(0 8)″ 10.522(27) H, Y
Lacaille 9352 (CD-36°15693) M1.5Ve 7.34 9.75 23h 05m 42s −35° 51′ 11″ 0.303 6(0 9)″ 10.742(31) H, Y
Ross 128 (FI Virginis) M4.0Vn 11.13 13.51 11h 47m 45s +00° 48′ 17″ 0.298 7(1 4)″ 10.918(50) H, Y
EZ Aquarii Star System EZ Aquarii (L 0789-006) M5.0Ve 13.33 15.64 22h 38m 34s −15° 18′ 02″ 0.289 5(4 4)″ 11.266(172) Y
Gl 866 B M? 13.27 15.58
Gl 866 C M? 14.03 16.34
Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris) Procyon A F5V-IV 0.38 2.66 07h 39m 18s +05° 13′ 30″ 0.286 1(0 9)″ 11.402(33) H, Y
Procyon B DA 10.7 12.98
61 Cygni 61 Cygni A (BD+38°4343) K5.0V 5.21 7.49 21h 08m 52s +38° 56′ 51″ 0.286 0(0 6)″ 11.402(23) H, Y
61 Cygni B (BD+38°4344) K7.0V 6.03 8.31
Struve 2398 Star System Struve 2398 A (GJ 725 A, BD+59°1915) M3.0V 8.90 11.16 18h 42m 47s +59° 37′ 50″ 0.283 0(1 7)″ 11.525(69) H, Y
Struve 2398 B (HD 173740) M3.5V 9.69 11.95
Groombridge 34 Gl 15 A (GX Andromedae) M1.5V 8.08 10.32 0h 18m 24s +44° 1′ 24″ 0.280 6(1 0)″ 11.624(40) H, Y
Gl 15 B (GQ Andromedae) M3.5V 11.06 13.30
Epsilon Indi (CP-57°10015) K5Ve 4.69 6.89 22h 03m 22s −56° 47′ 10″ 0.275 8(0 7)″ 11.824(30) H, Y
DX Cancri (G051-015) M6.5Ve 14.78 16.98 08h 29m 50s +26° 46′ 37″ 0.275 8(3 0)″ 11.826(129) Y
Tau Ceti (BD-16°295) G8Vp 3.49 5.68 01h 44m 04s −15° 56′ 15″ 0.274 4(0 8)″ 11.887(33) H, Y
GJ 1061 (LHS 1565) M5.5V 13.03 15.19 03h 35m 57s −44° 30′ 46″ 0.272 0(1 3)″ 11.991(58)
YZ Ceti (LHS 138) M4.5V 12.02 14.17 01h 12m 31s −16° 59′ 57″ 0.268 8(3 0)″ 12.132(14) H, Y
Luyten's Star (BD+05°1668) M3.5Vn 9.86 11.97 07h 27m 25s +05° 13′ 33″ 0.263 8(1 3)″ 12.366(59) H, Y
Teegarden's star (SO025300.5+165258) M6.5V 15.40 18.50 02h 53m 0.5s +16° 52′ 58″ 0.260 6(2 7)″ 12.514(130) 1
SCR 1845-6357 M8.5V 17.39 19.41 18h 45m 02.6s (2000.0) −45° 01′06″ (2000.0) 0.259 5(1 2)″ 12.571(54) 1
Kapteyn's Star (CD-45°1841) M1.5V 8.84 10.87 05h 11m 41s −45° 01′ 06″ 0.255 3(0 9)″ 12.777(44) H, Y
Lacaille 8760 (AX Microscopii) M0.0V 6.67 8.69 21h 17m 15s −38° 52′ 03″ 0.253 4(1 2)″ 12.870(57) H, Y
Kruger 60 Star System Kruger 60 A (BD+56°2783) M3.0V 9.79 11.76 22h 28m 00s +57° 41′ 45″ 0.248 1(1 4)″ 13.148(74) S, Y
Kruger 60 B (DO Cephei) M4.0V 11.41 13.38
DEN 1048-3956 M8.5 V 17.39 19.37 10h 48m 15s -39° 56′ 06″ 0.247 7(1 6)″ 13.167(83) 1
Ross 614 star system Ross 614 (LHS 1849) M4.5V 11.15 13.09 06h 29m 23s −02° 48′ 50″ 0.244 3(2 1)″ 13.348(110) S, Y
Gl 234 B (V577 Monocerotis) M5.5V 14.23 16.17
Gl 628 (Wolf 1061, BD-12°4523) M3.0V 10.07 11.93 16h 30m 18s −12° 39′ 45″ 0.236 1(1 7)″ 13.820(98) H, Y
Van Maanen's Star (Gl 35, LHS 7) DZ7 12.38 14.21 00h 49m 10s +05° 23′ 19″ 0.231 9(1 8)″ 14.066(109) H, Y
Gl 1 (CD-37°15492) M3.0V 8.55 10.35 00h 05m 24s −37° 21′ 27″ 0.229 2(1 1)″ 14.230(67) H, Y
Wolf 424 Wolf 424 A (LHS 333) M5.5Ve 13.18 14.97 17h 33m 17s +09° 01′ 15″ 0.227 9(4 6)″ 14.311(289) Y
Gl 473 B (FL Virginis) M7Ve 13.17 14.96
TZ Arietis (GJ 83.1, Luyten 1159-16) M4.5V 12.27 14.03 02h 00m 13s +13° 03′ 08″ 0.224 8(2 9)″ 14.509(188) Y
Gl 687 (LHS 450, BD+68°946) M3.0V 9.17 10.89 17h 36m 26s +68° 20′ 21″ 0.220 5(0 9)″ 14.792(55) H, Y
LHS 292 (LP 731-58) M6.5V 15.60 17.32 17h 28m 40s −46° 53′ 43″ 0.220 3(3 6)″ 14.805(243) Y
Gl 674 (LHS 449) M3.0V 9.38 11.09 17h 28m 40s −46° 53′ 43″ 0.220 3(1 6)″ 14.808(107) H, Y
GJ 1245 (V1581 Cygni) GJ 1245 A M5.5V 13.46 15.17 19h 53m 54s −44° 24′ 55″ 0.220 2(1 0)″ 14.812(68) Y
GJ 1245 B M6.0V 14.01 15.72 19h 53m 55s −44° 24′ 56″
GJ 1245 C M? 16.75 18.46 19h 53m 54s −44° 24′ 55″
GJ 440 (WD 1142-645) DQ6 11.50 13.18 11h 45m 43s −64° 50′ 29″ 0.216 6(2 1)″ 15.060(140) H, Y
GJ 1002 M5.5V 13.76 15.40 00h 06m 44s −07° 32′ 22″ 0.213 0(3 6)″ 15.313(259) Y
Ross 780 (GJ 876) M3.5V 10.17 11.81 22h 53m 17s −14° 15′ 49″ 0.212 6(2 0)″ 15.342(142) H, Y
LHS 288 (Luyten 143-23) M5.5V 13.92 15.66 10h 44m 32s −61° 11′ 38″ 0.209 0(2 8)″ 15.609(204)
GJ 412 GJ 412 A M1.0V 8.77 10.34 11h 05m 29s +43° 31′ 36″ 0.206 0(1 1)″ 15.831(83) H, Y
WX Ursae Majoris M5.5V 14.48 16.05 11h 05m 30s +43° 31′ 18″
GJ 380 K7.0V 6.59 8.16 10h 11m 22s +49° 27′ 15″ 0.205 8(0 7)″ 15.847(52) H, Y
GJ 388 M3.0V 9.32 10.87 10h 19m 36s +19° 52′ 10″ 0.204 6(2 8)″ 15.941(219) Y
GJ 832 M3.0V 8.66 10.20 21h 33m 34s −49° 00′ 32″ 0.202 8(1 4)″ 16.084(105) H, Y
LP 944-020 M9.0V 18.50 20.02 03h 39m 35s −35° 25′ 41″ 0.201 4(4 2)″ 16.194(338) T
DEN 0255-4700 L7.5 V 22.92 24.44 02h 55m 3.7s -47° 00′ 52″ 0.201 4(3 9)″ 16.197(313) 1
GJ 682 M4.5 V 10.95 12.45 17h 37m 3.7s -44° 19′ 09″ 0.199 7(2 3)″ 16.336(189) H, Y
Designation Stellar class m M RA Dec Parallax(Arcsec) Distance from Earth (ly) Sources
System Star
Notes 
The light year distances for the nearest star systems taken from parallax data determined by the Research Consortium on Nearby Stars (or RECONS). The sources for their determination were as follows:
H – Hipparcos catalogue.
Y – Yale Parallax Catalog.
S – Soderhjelm 1999.
T – Tinney 1996.
B - Burgasser et al. 2000
1 – Recently discovered; exact distance is still uncertain.
Stellar class information is taken from RECONS at [1].

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based initially on photospheric temperature and its associated spectral characteristics, and subsequently refined in terms of other characteristics. ... // Headline text HEY!! HOW ARE YOU ALL?? Its nice of you to come read this page. ... In astronomy, absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude, m, an object would have if it were at a standard luminosity distance away from us (in the absence of interstellar extinction!). It allows the overall brightnesses of objects to be compared without regard to distance. ... Right ascension (RA; symbol α: Greek letter alpha) is the astronomical term for one of the two coordinates of a point on the celestial sphere when using the equatorial coordinate system. ... In astronomy, declination (dec) is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that milliarcsecond be merged into this article or section. ... Distance is a numerical description of how far apart things lie. ... Earth (IPA: , often referred to as the Earth, Terra, or Planet Earth) is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest. ... A light year, abbreviated ly, is the distance light travels in one year: roughly 9. ... The Sun is the star of our solar system. ... A light minute (also written light-minute) is a unit of length. ... A light second is a unit of length. ... Alpha Centauri (α Cen / α Centauri) is the brightest star system (a triple star system) in the southern constellation of Centaurus, and contains the fourth brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of −0. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Alpha Ccentauri. ... Alpha Centauri B (also Rigel Kentaurus B — the foot of the centaur in Arabic) is a star of the Alpha Centauri star system. ... Barnards star is a star in the constellation Ophiuchus which is notable for having the largest proper motion (10. ... Wolf 359 is a star located approximately 2. ... Lalande 21185 is a red dwarf star approximately 2. ... Sirius (α CMa / α Canis Majoris / Alpha Canis Majoris) is the brightest star in the night-time sky, with a visual apparent magnitude of −1. ... Image of Sirius A and Sirius B taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. ... Luyten 726-8 is a binary star system that is one of Earths nearest neighbors. ... Ross 154 is a red dwarf star approximately 3. ... Ross 248 is a red dwarf star approximately 3. ... Epsilon Eridani (ε Eri / ε Eridani) is a main-sequence K2 class star in the constellation of Eridanus. ... Lacaille 9352 (Lac 9352) is a red dwarf with a very high proper motion (6. ... Ross 128 is a red dwarf star approximately 3. ... EZ Aquarii is a binary star system approximately 3. ... Procyon (α CMi / α Canis Minoris / Alpha Canis Minoris) is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor and the eighth brightest star in the nighttime sky. ... Image of Sirius A and Sirius B taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. ... 61 Cygni is a star in the constellation Cygnus. ... Struve 2398 is a binary star system in the constellation Draco. ... Groombridge 34 is a binary star system that consists of two red dwarf stars in a nearly circular orbit with a separation of about 147 astronomical units. ... Epsilon Indi (ε Ind / ε Indi) is a star approximately 11. ... DX Cancri is a cool red dwarf star that is less than 9% of the mass of our Sun. ... Tau Ceti (τ Cet / τ Ceti) is a star commonly mentioned by science fiction authors since it is similar to the Sun in mass and spectral type in addition to being relatively close to us. ... GJ 1061 (Gliese-Jahreiss 1061) is a star approximately 12. ... YZ Ceti is a red dwarf star in the constellation Cetus the whale. ... Luytens Star (GJ 273 Recons) is a red dwarf at a distance of around 12. ... Teegardens Star, also known as SO025300. ... SCR 1845-6357 is a red dwarf star about 11 light-years away in the constellation Corona Australis. ... Kapteyns Star (also known as GJ 191, HD 33793 or CD -45 1841) is a class M0 subdwarf discovered by Jacobus Kapteyn in 1897. ... Lacaille 8760 is a red dwarf star in the constellation Microscopium, the microscope. ... Lacaille 8760 is a red dwarf star in the constellation Microscopium, the microscope. ... Kruger 60 is a binary star system composed of A and B components, both of which are red dwarf stars. ... Ross 614 is a close binary star system consisting of two low-mass red dwarf stars. ... Wolf 1061 is a red dwarf star. ... Van Maanens Star is a white dwarf, the second such star discovered and the third closest one to the Sun after Sirius B and Procyon B. It is located 14. ... Image of Sirius A and Sirius B taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. ... Gl 1 is a red dwarf star in the constellation Sculptor, which is found in the southern part of the sky. ... Wolf 424 is a binary star system comprising two red dwarf stars at a distance of approximately 14. ... TZ Arietis is a red dwarf star in the constellation Aries. ... GJ 687 is a dwarf red star in the constellation Draco. ... LHS 292 is a red dwarf star in the constellation Sextans. ... Gl 674 is a red dwarf star. ... GJ 1002 is a red dwarf star. ... Gliese 876 is a red dwarf star (spectral type M4V) 15 light years from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. ... Groombridge 1618 is a star in the constellation Ursa Major. ... GJ 388 is a red dwarf star. ... Gliese 832 (Gl 832 or GJ 832) is a red dwarf star in the constellation Indus. ... In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based initially on photospheric temperature and its associated spectral characteristics, and subsequently refined in terms of other characteristics. ... // Headline text HEY!! HOW ARE YOU ALL?? Its nice of you to come read this page. ... In astronomy, absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude, m, an object would have if it were at a standard luminosity distance away from us (in the absence of interstellar extinction!). It allows the overall brightnesses of objects to be compared without regard to distance. ... Right ascension (RA; symbol α: Greek letter alpha) is the astronomical term for one of the two coordinates of a point on the celestial sphere when using the equatorial coordinate system. ... In astronomy, declination (dec) is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that milliarcsecond be merged into this article or section. ... Distance is a numerical description of how far apart things lie. ... Earth (IPA: , often referred to as the Earth, Terra, or Planet Earth) is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest. ... A light year, abbreviated ly, is the distance light travels in one year: roughly 9. ... The Research Consortium on Nearby Stars (RECONS) is a project to investigate the stars nearest to the Solar System - those within 10 parsecs (32. ... Hipparcos (for High Precision Parallax Collecting Satellite) was an astrometry mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) dedicated to the measurement of stellar parallax and the proper motions of stars. ... In astronomy, many stars are referred to simply by catalogue numbers. ...

Will man ever reach the nearest star?

Project Daedalus found that with current technology, a hypothetical unmanned spaceship could reach Barnard's Star in about 50 years. An artists conception of the British Interplanetary Society design for Project Daedalus Project Daedalus was a study conducted between 1973 and 1978 by the British Interplanetary Society to design a plausible interstellar unmanned spacecraft. ... Barnards star is a star in the constellation Ophiuchus which is notable for having the largest proper motion (10. ...


See also

A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Pleiades, an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Taurus. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

References


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