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Nearby star

Kapteyn's Star

Also GJ 191 · VZ Pictoris

Open in Ouranos

A red dwarf from the Milky Way's halo, passing through the Sun's neighbourhood on a backwards orbit round the galaxy.

Measured

Distance
13 light-years
Constellation
Pictor
Position (J2000)
RA 5h 11m 41s, Dec −45.02°

How far, from the Sun

12.8 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light12.8 years
  • Voyager 1's speed228,000 years
  • Driving at 100 km/h138 million years

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

Facts

  • It has one of the largest proper motions of any star.
  • Spectral type M1VIp (SIMBAD).
  • At magnitude 8.85 (V) it is too faint to see with the naked eye.

Where this comes from

  • Gaia DR3 parallax 254.1986 ± 0.0168 mas, Gaia DR3 4810594479418041856 (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.