Roger's Equations Blog

Roger's Equations

This blog is all about science and technology (with occasional math thrown in for fun). The goal of this blog is to try and pass on the sense of excitement and wonder I feel when I read about these topics. I hope you enjoy the posts.

Previous in Blog: Six Degrees of Wiki (Puzzle) by Roger Pink   Next in Blog: The Grand(er) Canyon of Antarctica by Roger Pink
Close
Close
Close
5 comments
Rate Comments: Nested

Star Systems Within Ten Light Years by Roger Pink

Posted February 09, 2014 9:54 AM by Bayes

The Universe is vast, consisting of 100s of billions of galaxies. Our galaxy is vast, consisting of 100s of billions of stars. The stars within 10 light years (ly) of us? Not so vast...Here's a list, from closest to farthest.

Star (Distance in LY)

Proxima Centauri (4.24) -likely part of a triple system that includes the binary star system Alpha Centauri. A red dwarf with an apparent magnitude of 11.05.

Alpha Centauri (4.36) - a binary star system, it appears to be a single star to the naked eye and has an apparent magnitude of -0.27, which makes it the third brightest star in the sky: 1. Sirius (-1.46), 2. Canopus (-0.72) 3. Alpha Centauri (-0.27)

Barnard's Star (5.96) - red dwarf star named for E.E. Barnard. Dim with an apparent magnitude of 9.54, it is the selected target of Project Daedalus.

Luhman 16 (6.59) - a binary star system consisting of brown dwarfs. Discovered just recently (2013), the system appears close to the galactic plane and thus difficult to detect.

Wolf 359 (7.78) - a red dwarf named for Max Wolf, the star has an apparent magnitude of 7.1. It is a flare star.

Lalande 21185 (8.29) - a red dwarf star with an apparent magnitude of 7.52. In about 20,000 years this star will be about 4.65 ly away.

Sirius (8.58) - Brightest star in the night sky, has an apparent magnitude of -1.46. Its name is derived from the ancient greek "Seirios" which means "glowing" or "scorcher". The star is actually a binary star system consisting of a white main-sequence star and a white dwarf companion. Sometimes called the "Dog Star" because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Greater Dog).

Luyten 726-8 (8.73) - a binary star system consisting of two red dwarfs, both of which are flare stars. The apparent magnitude of the system is 12.57. In 32,000 years it will have a close encounter (within 1 ly) with Epsilon Eirdani (10.52 ly away from us).

Ross 154 (9.68) - a red dwarf and a flare star. It has an apparent magnitude of 10.44. It is estimated to be 24% of our Suns radius and 17% of it's mass. It radiates only 0.38% of our Sun's luminosity.

Some Useful Diagrams

Reply

Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.
Guru

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: England & Ireland
Posts: 1063
Good Answers: 61
#1

Re: Star Systems Within Ten Light Years by Roger Pink

02/09/2014 3:20 PM

What is it all there for? Can only be for life.

Reply Score 1 for Off Topic
Guru
Technical Fields - Technical Writing - New Member Engineering Fields - Piping Design Engineering - New Member

Join Date: May 2009
Location: Richland, WA, USA
Posts: 21017
Good Answers: 795
#2

Re: Star Systems Within Ten Light Years by Roger Pink

02/10/2014 2:42 AM

Have any of the exoplanets been discovered around these "nearby" stars? I'm guessing not, but I haven't followed the news closely.

__________________
In vino veritas; in cervisia carmen; in aqua E. coli.
Reply
Guru

Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Stoke-on-Trent, UK
Posts: 4496
Good Answers: 137
#3

Re: Star Systems Within Ten Light Years by Roger Pink

02/10/2014 6:55 AM

It's not surprising there aren't that many stars within 10 ly. To an order of magnitude, typical galaxy is 105 ly dia and 104 ly thick, volume 1014 ly3. With 1011 stars, that's 103 ly3/star, giving average spacing 10 ly. As that includes galactic centre where star density is higher, and the solar system is towards the outside of the Milky Way, nearest neighbour at 4.24 ly is unexpectedly close

__________________
Give masochists a fair crack of the whip
Reply
Guru

Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: South of Minot North Dakota
Posts: 8376
Good Answers: 775
#4
In reply to #3

Re: Star Systems Within Ten Light Years by Roger Pink

02/11/2014 8:52 PM

So what is the typical star spacings nearer the galactic center mass?

Reply
Guru

Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Stoke-on-Trent, UK
Posts: 4496
Good Answers: 137
#5
In reply to #4

Re: Star Systems Within Ten Light Years by Roger Pink

02/12/2014 6:27 AM

I don't know. No doubt the astronomical community has an estimate, but I'm not one of them, just an interested layman. There's probably something on the web.

__________________
Give masochists a fair crack of the whip
Reply
Reply to Blog Entry 5 comments
Copy to Clipboard

Users who posted comments:

Codemaster (2); energyconversion (1); tcmtech (1); Tornado (1)

Previous in Blog: Six Degrees of Wiki (Puzzle) by Roger Pink   Next in Blog: The Grand(er) Canyon of Antarctica by Roger Pink

Advertisement