GJ 1061
GJ 1061 is a red dwarf star located 12 light-years (3.7 parsecs) from Earth in the southern constellation of Horologium. Even though it is a relatively nearby star, it has an apparent visual magnitude of about 13, so it can only be seen with at least a moderately-sized telescope.
GJ 1061 Location of GJ 1061 in the constellation Horologium | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Horologium |
| Right ascension | 03h 35m 59.69916s |
| Declination | −44° 30′ 45.7308″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 13.03 |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | M5.5 V |
| Apparent magnitude (J) | 7.52 ± 0.02 |
| U−B color index | 1.52 |
| B−V color index | 1.90 |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | 1.49±0.23 km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: 745.654 mas/yr Dec.: −373.323 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 272.1615 ± 0.0316 mas |
| Distance | 11.984 ± 0.001 ly (3.6743 ± 0.0004 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | 15.26 |
| Details | |
| Mass | 0.125±0.003 M☉ |
| Radius | 0.152±0.007 R☉ |
| Luminosity (bolometric) | 0.001641±0.000037 L☉ |
| Luminosity (visual, LV) | 0.00007 L☉ |
| Temperature | 2,977+72 −69 K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.03±0.09 dex |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | ≤ 5 km/s |
| Age | >7.0±0.5 Gyr |
| Other designations | |
GJ 1061, LHS 1565, LFT 295, LTT 1702, LP 995-46, L 372-58 | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
The proper motion of GJ 1061 has been known since 1974, but it was estimated to be further away: approximately 25 light-years (7.7 parsecs) distant based upon an estimated parallax of 0.130″. The RECONS accurately determined its distance in 1997. At that time, it was the 20th-nearest star system to the Sun. The discovery team noted that many more stars like this are likely to be discovered nearby.
This star is a tiny, dim, red dwarf, close to the lower mass limit. It has an estimated mass of about 12.5% that of the Sun and is only about 0.2% as luminous. The star displays no significant infrared excess due to circumstellar dust.