Gliese 876

star in the constellation Aquarius

Gliese 876 is a red dwarf about 15 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius.[1] It is the closest star known to be a multiplanetary system. As of 2011, four extrasolar planets have been found orbiting the star.[2]

Gliese 876
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Aquarius
Pronunciation /ˈɡlzə/
Right ascension  22h 53m 16.7323s
Declination −14° 15′ 49.3034″
Apparent magnitude (V) 10.15
Characteristics
Spectral type M4V
U−B color index 1.15[source?]
B−V color index 1.59[source?]
V−R color index 0.30[source?]
R−I color index 1.22[source?]
Variable type BY Draconis
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)–1.519 ± 0.157 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: 957.961±0.117 mas/yr
Dec.: −673.638±0.102 mas/yr
Parallax (π)213.8669 ± 0.0758 mas
Distance15.250 ± 0.005 ly
(4.676 ± 0.002 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)11.79[source?]
Details
Mass0.37 M
Radius0.3761±0.0059 R
Luminosity0.0122±0.0002 L
Surface gravity (log g)4.89 cgs
Temperature3129±19 K
Metallicity [Fe/H]+0.19 ± 0.17 dex
Rotation96.9 days
Rotational velocity (v sin i)0.16, km/s
Age0.1–9.9 Gyr
Other designations
BD-15°6290, G 156-057, GCTP 5546.00, HIP 113020, IL Aquarii, LHS 530, Ross 780, Vys 337
Database references
SIMBADGliese 876
d
c
b
e
Exoplanet Archivedata
ARICNSdata
Extrasolar Planets
Encyclopaedia
data

It is the third closest known star to the Sun which has a planetary system, after Epsilon Eridani (10.5 ly) and Gliese 674 (14.8 ly).

Two of the middle planets are in the system's habitable zone. However, they are giant planets thought to be like Jupiter.

References

change
  1. Correia A.C M. et al. 2010. The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. XIX. Characterization and dynamics of the GJ 876 planetary system. Astronomy and Astrophysics 511: A21. [1]
  2. Rivera, Eugenio J. et al. 2010. The Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey: a Uranus-mass fourth planet for GJ 876 in an extrasolar Laplace configuration. The Astrophysical Journal 719 (1): 890–899. [2]