Luyten's Star
Encyclopedia
Luyten's Star is a red dwarf
star in the constellation
Canis Minor
. It is located at a distance of around 12.36 light-years and has a visual magnitude of 9.9, making it too faint to be viewed with the unaided eye. It is named after Willem Jacob Luyten
, who first determined its proper motion
.
This star is approximately a quarter the mass of the Sun
. The projected rotation rate of this star
is too low to be measured, but is no greater than 1 km/s.
. The closest approach occurred about 13,000 years ago when it came within 3.67 parsecs. The star is currently located 1.2 light years distant from Procyon
, and the latter would appear as a visual magnitude −4.5 star in the night sky of a hypothetical planet orbiting Luyten's Star. The closest encounter between the two stars occurred about 600 years ago when Luyten's Star was at its minimal distance of about 1.12 ly
from Procyon
. The space velocity components of Luyten's Star are U = +16, V = −66 and W = -17 km/s.
's Known Space
stories, Luyten's Star is Down's primary (known as "L5 1668", a corrupted designation).
Red dwarf
According to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a red dwarf star is a small and relatively cool star, of the main sequence, either late K or M spectral type....
star in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Canis Minor
Canis Minor
Canis Minor is a small constellation. It was included in the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and is still included among the 88 modern constellations...
. It is located at a distance of around 12.36 light-years and has a visual magnitude of 9.9, making it too faint to be viewed with the unaided eye. It is named after Willem Jacob Luyten
Willem Jacob Luyten
Willem Jacob Luyten was a Dutch-American astronomer.-Life:Jacob Luyten was born in Semarang, Java, at the time part of the Dutch East Indies. His mother was Cornelia M. Francken and his father Jacob Luyten, a French teacher.At the age of 11 he observed Halley's comet, which started his...
, who first determined its proper motion
Proper motion
The proper motion of a star is its angular change in position over time as seen from the center of mass of the solar system. It is measured in seconds of arc per year, arcsec/yr, where 3600 arcseconds equal one degree. This contrasts with radial velocity, which is the time rate of change in...
.
This star is approximately a quarter the mass of the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. The projected rotation rate of this star
Stellar rotation
Stellar rotation is the angular motion of a star about its axis. The rate of rotation can be measured from the spectrum of the star, or by timing the movements of active features on the surface....
is too low to be measured, but is no greater than 1 km/s.
Closest approach and encounters
At present, Luyten's Star is moving away from the Solar SystemSolar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. The closest approach occurred about 13,000 years ago when it came within 3.67 parsecs. The star is currently located 1.2 light years distant from Procyon
Procyon
Procyon is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor. To the naked eye, it appears to be a single star, the seventh brightest in the night sky with a visual apparent magnitude of 0.34...
, and the latter would appear as a visual magnitude −4.5 star in the night sky of a hypothetical planet orbiting Luyten's Star. The closest encounter between the two stars occurred about 600 years ago when Luyten's Star was at its minimal distance of about 1.12 ly
Ly
Ly may refer to:* Ly the Fairy, a character from Rayman 2: The Great Escape* Lý Dynasty, a dynasty of Vietnam* Ly * Libya, ISO 3166-1 country code** .ly, the Top-level domain for Libya...
from Procyon
Procyon
Procyon is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor. To the naked eye, it appears to be a single star, the seventh brightest in the night sky with a visual apparent magnitude of 0.34...
. The space velocity components of Luyten's Star are U = +16, V = −66 and W = -17 km/s.
In fiction
In Larry NivenLarry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's Known Space
Known Space
Known Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
stories, Luyten's Star is Down's primary (known as "L5 1668", a corrupted designation).