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61 Cygni

Also Bessel's Star · GJ 820 · HD 201091 · HD 201092

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A pair of orange dwarf stars, the first star whose distance was ever measured.

Measured

Distance
11 light-years
Constellation
Cygnus
Position (J2000)
RA 21h 06m 54s, Dec +38.75°

How far, from the Sun

11.4 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light11.4 years
  • Voyager 1's speed203,000 years
  • Driving at 100 km/h123 million years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • Friedrich Bessel measured its parallax in 1838, the first time anyone gauged the distance to a star.
  • It has one of the largest proper motions of any naked-eye star.

Where this comes from

  • Gaia DR3 parallax 285.9949 ± 0.0599 mas, Gaia DR3 1872046609345556480 (Gaia Collaboration 2023, A&A 674, A1)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.