Star · M2.0V
Kapteyn's Star
Kapteyn's Star is a main-sequence star of spectral type M2.0V in the constellation Pictor, 12.8 light-years from the Sun. It is orbited by 1 confirmed exoplanet(s).
| Other names | Kapteyn · Gl 191 · HIP 24186 |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Pictor |
| Distance | 12.8 light-years (3.93 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 8.86 |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude 10.89 |
| Spectral type | M2.0V |
| Surface temperature | 3,550 K |
| Luminosity | 0.0161 L☉ |
| Radius | 0.291 R☉ |
| Mass | 0.281 M☉ |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | -0.89 |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 5h 11m 40.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −45° 01′ 07″ |
| Space velocity (relative to the Sun) | 293.3 km/s |
In the sky
Too faint for the naked eye (magnitude 8.86); binoculars will find it. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 45° N. South of latitude 45° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in December, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 2013. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 228 thousand years.
The Sun seen from there
From a planet around Kapteyn's Star, the Sun would look like a star of magnitude 2.80, in the direction where our sky has the constellation Hercules. It would be visible to the naked eye.
Planets
- Kapteyn c 122-day orbit · 2.54 R⊕
Neighbours
Its nearest neighbours in the catalogue (within 20 light-years):
- GJ 1061 3.75 light-years
- DENIS-P J025503.3-470049 6.59 light-years
- WISE J035000.32-565830.2 7.34 light-years
- Gl 244B 7.49 light-years
- Sirius 7.52 light-years
- Ran 8.54 light-years
- 82 G. Eri 8.83 light-years
- DENIS J081730.0-615520 9.02 light-years
Stellar parameters from the NASA Exoplanet Archive; position and brightness from the HYG / AT-HYG catalogue.