Wolf 1061 is a red dwarf in Ophiuchus with three known planets, one of them a super-Earth near the inner edge of the zone where water could be liquid.
At a glance
| type | red dwarf (class M) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 14.1 light-years (4.31 pc) |
| its light left it | 14.1 years ago |
| luminosity | 0.0086 × the Sun |
| radius | 0.31 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 3,340 K |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Wolf 1061
Wolf 1061 is a red dwarf, too faint for the naked eye, catalogued by Max Wolf among stars with large motions. It is relatively calm for its kind, which matters for any planet close enough to be warm, since a red dwarf’s temperate zone lies very near the star.
Measurements of its wobble with the HARPS spectrograph revealed three planets, each more massive than the Earth. The middle one, Wolf 1061 c, orbits near the inner edge of the star’s temperate zone, where the starlight may already be strong enough to drive a runaway greenhouse like Venus’s. The other two orbit nearer and further, one too hot and one too cold for surface water.
What you see in the piece
Fly to it and three planets circle a dull red disc on their measured orbits; press O to draw them. In HUMAN EYE nothing shows in this part of Ophiuchus.
Measured or modelled
Whether Wolf 1061 c is temperate or closer to Venus depends on an atmosphere that cannot yet be observed; its mass is a lower limit.
Questions
Does Wolf 1061 have a habitable planet?
Wolf 1061 c lies near the inner edge of the temperate zone; whether it could hold water is unknown. The star is 14.1 light-years (4.31 pc) away.