LHS 292 is a tiny, very faint red dwarf close to the Sun, a flare star that is easy to overlook because almost all of its light is infrared.
At a glance
| type | red dwarf (class M) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 14.8 light-years (4.54 pc) |
| its light left it | 14.8 years ago |
| luminosity | 0.0006 × the Sun |
| radius | 0.13 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 2,900 K |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About LHS 292
LHS 292 sits near the small end of what a star can be: a ball of gas only just massive enough to fuse hydrogen in its core. Its surface is cool enough that it gives out most of its energy as infrared light, so in visible light it is extremely dim even at this short distance.
Its name comes from Luyten’s catalogue of stars with large proper motion, stars that drift measurably across the sky over the years because they are close. Like many of the smallest red dwarfs it is a flare star: tangled magnetic fields release their energy in sudden outbursts that can brighten it sharply for minutes.
What you see in the piece
Even near it the star is a dull red point; from Earth it is hidden far below the naked-eye limit. Switch the band row to infrared and it stands out more than in visible light.
Questions
How bright is LHS 292 compared with the Sun?
Its luminosity is 0.0006 × the Sun, and its surface temperature is about 2,900 K, so most of what it gives out is infrared rather than visible light.