YZ Ceti
Encyclopedia
YZ Ceti is a red dwarf
star
in the constellation
Cetus
. Although it is relatively close to the Sun
at just 12 light years, this star cannot be seen with the naked eye. It is classified as a flare star
that undergoes intermittent fluctuations in luminosity
. YZ Ceti is only about 8.5% the mass of our Sun, and is normally less than 1/5,000th as luminous.
This star is unusually close to Tau Ceti
, a star of spectral class G8. The two are only about 1.6 light years apart, a little more than a third of the distance from the Sun to our nearest neighbor, Proxima Centauri
.
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
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
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....
Cetus
Cetus
Cetus is a constellation. Its name refers to Cetus, a sea monster in Greek mythology, although it is often called 'the whale' today. Cetus is located in the region of the sky that contains other water-related constellations such as Aquarius, Pisces, and Eridanus.-Ecliptic:Although Cetus is not...
. Although it is relatively close to 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...
at just 12 light years, this star cannot be seen with the naked eye. It is classified as a flare star
Flare star
A flare star is a variable star that can undergo unpredictable dramatic increases in brightness for a few minutes. It is believed that the flares on flare stars are analogous to solar flares in that they are due to magnetic reconnection in the atmospheres of the stars. The brightness increase is...
that undergoes intermittent fluctuations in luminosity
Luminosity
Luminosity is a measurement of brightness.-In photometry and color imaging:In photometry, luminosity is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to luminance, which is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre.The luminosity function...
. YZ Ceti is only about 8.5% the mass of our Sun, and is normally less than 1/5,000th as luminous.
This star is unusually close to Tau Ceti
Tau Ceti
Tau Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus that is spectrally similar to the Sun, although it has only about 78% of the Sun's mass. At a distance of just under 12 light-years from the Solar System, it is a relatively close star. Tau Ceti is metal-deficient and so is thought to be less likely to...
, a star of spectral class G8. The two are only about 1.6 light years apart, a little more than a third of the distance from the Sun to our nearest neighbor, Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star about 4.2 light-years distant in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, the Director of the Union Observatory in South Africa, and is the nearest known star to the Sun, although it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye...
.