DX Cancri is a tiny red dwarf flare star in Cancer, one of the least massive stars near the Sun and far too faint to see without a telescope.
At a glance
| type | red dwarf (class M) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 11.7 light-years (3.58 pc) |
| its light left it | 11.7 years ago |
| luminosity | 0.00092 × the Sun |
| radius | 0.11 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 2,840 K |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About DX Cancri
DX Cancri is a red dwarf near the lowest mass a star can have and still burn hydrogen. It is small, cool and dim, giving out only a trace of the Sun’s light, and is visible only through a telescope.
It is a flare star, brightening suddenly and unpredictably as its magnetic field releases energy, which is common in stars this small. Stars like it are the most numerous in the Galaxy, yet almost none can be seen from Earth without help, which is why the list of nearby stars kept growing long after the bright ones were known.
What you see in the piece
Fly to it and you find a small, deep-red disc. In HUMAN EYE nothing shows where it lies in Cancer.
Questions
What kind of star is DX Cancri?
A red dwarf (class M) flare star with a radius of 0.11 × the Sun and a surface temperature of 2,840 K, 11.7 light-years (3.58 pc) away.