Lacaille 9352 is a bright red dwarf in Piscis Austrinus with at least two planets, close to the Sun yet just too faint to be seen by the naked eye.
At a glance
| type | red dwarf (class M) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 10.7 light-years (3.29 pc) |
| its light left it | 10.7 years ago |
| luminosity | 0.0367 × the Sun |
| radius | 0.46 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 3,630 K |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Lacaille 9352
Lacaille 9352 is one of the larger and brighter red dwarfs near the Sun, though still well below the Sun in size and output. It takes its name from the catalogue of southern stars made by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille from the Cape of Good Hope. It moves quickly across the sky, a sign of how close it is, and binoculars show it in Piscis Austrinus.
It was among the first red dwarfs whose disc was measured directly, by combining the light of several telescopes so that they act as one far larger instrument. Measurements of its wobble have since revealed planets on short orbits, worlds a few times the mass of the Earth. The star is unusually calm for a red dwarf, which made those small signals easier to find.
What you see in the piece
Fly to it and the disc is a steady orange-red, large for a red dwarf, with its catalogued planets close in; press O to draw their orbits. In HUMAN EYE it sits just under the eye’s limit, near the bright star Fomalhaut on the sky.
Questions
How far away is Lacaille 9352?
Lacaille 9352 is 10.7 light-years (3.29 pc) from the Sun.
Does Lacaille 9352 have planets?
Yes, at least two, found from the wobble they cause in the star, a red dwarf (class M) with a luminosity of 0.0367 × the Sun.