in order of increasing distance in light years
see diagram
|
Star |
Spectral Type |
Distance |
Constellation |
Remarks |
|
Alpha |
G2, K1, M5 |
4.36 |
Centaurus |
Close binary pair (yellow, orange) with distant red dwarf companion; the brightest star (Alpha Centauri A) is similar to the Sun but older and more metallic; terrestrial planets are possible but so far not detected MORE |
|
Sirius |
A1, D |
8.6 |
Canis |
Binary system containing a mature white star and a dim white dwarf as massive as the Sun and as small as Earth |
|
*Epsilon Eridani |
K2 |
10.5 |
Eridanus |
Young orange star with a massive debris disk like the Kuiper Belt and at least one Jupiter-size planet at 3.38 AU; closest exoplanetary system to the Sun. MORE |
|
Tau Ceti |
G8 |
11.9 |
Cetus |
Mature yellow star with extensive debris belt and potential planets within 10 AU, where debris has been swept out. MORE |
|
Procyon |
F5 IV, |
12 |
Canis |
Yellow-white subgiant with 7 times the luminosity and twice the diameter of the Sun, sharing an eccentric 41-year orbit with a white dwarf 60% as massive as the Sun |
|
*GJ 674 |
M2.5 |
14.7 |
Ara |
Red dwarf with a single Hot Neptune planet 11 times as massive as Earth in a somewhat eccentric orbit. MORE |
|
*GJ 876 |
M4 |
15.4 |
Aquarius |
Red dwarf with 3 known planets; the innermost is one of the smallest exoplanets yet detected, with 7.5 Earth masses; the outer two are gas giants in a mean motion resonance. MORE |
|
*GJ 832 |
M1.5 |
16 |
Indus |
Red dwarf with one gas giant about 60% as massive as Jupiter in a low-eccentricity orbit at 3.4 AU; potential host for icy exomoons |
|
Altair |
A7 |
17 |
Aquila |
White star rotating so fast that its equatorial diameter is 14% larger than its polar diameter |
|
*GJ 581 |
M3 |
20 |
Libra |
Red dwarf with one Hot Neptune and two Super Earths whose orbits bracket the system's habitable zone. MORE |
|
Vega |
A0 |
25 |
Lyra |
White star 2.3 times more massive and 37 times brighter than the Sun; rotating once every 12.5 hours, so fast that it bulges 23% wider at the equator than at the poles; extensive debris disk and planetary candidates. MORE |
|
*Fomalhaut |
A7 |
25 |
Piscis |
White star with fast rotation and one gas giant planet orbiting just inside a dusty, sharply defined debris ring. MORE |
|
*GJ 849 |
M3.5 |
29 |
Aquarius |
Relatively massive red dwarf, more metallic than the Sun, with a Jupiter twin at 2.35 AU in a low-eccentricity orbit; potential host for icy exomoons. MORE |
|
*GJ 317 |
M3.5 |
30 |
Pyxis |
Lightweight red dwarf with a Jupiter-mass planet at 0.95 AU and an additional gas giant likely in a wider orbit; potential host for icy exomoons |
|
*GJ 176 |
M2 |
31 |
Taurus |
Also HD 285968; relatively massive red dwarf with a large Super Earth or small Warm Neptune in an orbit of about 9 days |
|
*GJ 436 |
M2.5 |
33 |
Leo |
Red dwarf with one transiting Hot Neptune; additional stable orbits may be possible in the habitable zone. MORE |
|
*Pollux |
K0 III |
34 |
Gemini |
Also Beta Geminorum and HD 62509; red giant whose progenitor was an A-type star; one known gas giant at 1.6 AU |
|
Denebola |
A3 |
36 |
Leo |
Young white star with dusty debris disk |
|
Arcturus |
K1 III |
37 |
Bootes |
Red giant star with 25 times the diameter and 215 times the luminosity of the Sun |
|
*55 Cancri |
G8, M4 |
41 |
Cancer |
Wide binary pair with 5 planets orbiting the G star; 3 are within 0.24 AU; the fifth, with 4 times Jupiter's mass, orbits at 5.8 AU and may host a family of moons. MORE |
|
*HD 69830 |
K0 |
41 |
Puppis |
Orange star with three Neptune-mass planets orbiting within 0.63 AU and a dusty asteroid belt beyond 1 AU. MORE |
|
*HD 40307 |
K2 |
42 |
Dorado |
Orange star with three Super Earths orbiting well starward of the system's habitable zone |
|
Capella |
G1 III, |
42 |
Auriga |
Quadruple system with two giant G stars, each 10 times the diameter of the Sun; one is 50 times brighter, the other is 80 times brighter; they share a tight binary orbit and are accompanied by a remote pair of M dwarfs |
|
*Upsilon Andromedae |
F8, M4 |
44 |
Andromeda |
Also HD 9826; wide binary system with 3 giant planets orbiting the F star, which is brighter and more massive than the Sun; the outer planet, with 3.75 times Jupiter's mass, occupies the habitable zone and may host a family of moons. MORE |
|
*Gamma Cephei |
K1 IV, |
45 |
Cepheus |
Also Errai and HD 222404; mature binary system with semimajor axis of 19 AU and period of 67 years; the orange subgiant star, with almost 5 times the Sun's diameter, has one planet at least 1.5 times Jupiter's mass orbiting at 2 AU; potential host for exomoons. MORE |
|
*47 Ursae Majoris |
G0 |
46 |
Ursa |
Yellow star -- brighter, larger, and older than the Sun -- with two giant planets beyond the habitable zone in unusually circular obits; potential hosts for icy exomoons. MORE |
|
Rasalhague |
A5 III |
47 |
Ophiuchus |
Unusual giant white star 25 times brighter than the Sun with a close dim binary companion of uncertain spectral class |
|
Alderamin |
A7 |
49 |
Cepheus |
Young white star with a rotation period under 12 hours |
|
*Mu Arae |
G3 |
50 |
Ara |
Also HD 160691; one Hot Neptune or Hot Super-Earth, plus 3 giant planets in wider orbits that are potential hosts for exomoons. MORE |
|
*51 Pegasi |
G2 |
50 |
Pegasus |
Prototypical Hot Jupiter, nicknamed Bellerophon: a gas giant with 48% of Jupiter's mass orbiting at 0.05 AU (only 4.6 million miles away from the star); first exoplanet discovered by the radial velocity method in 1995 |
|
*GJ 777 |
G6 IV, |
52 |
Cygnus |
Also HD 190360; triple system with yellow subgiant and distant pair of M stars; one Hot Neptune and one gas giant at 4 AU with more than 1.5 times Jupiter's mass. MORE |
|
Castor |
A, M |
52 |
Gemini |
Sextuple system consisting of two pairs of A stars and a third pair of M dwarfs |
|
*HD 10647 |
F8 |
56 |
Eridanus |
Young yellow-white star with debris belt and one Jupiter-sized planet that might host a family of moons |
|
Zosma |
A4 |
58 |
Leo |
Also Delta Leonis; white star 2.2 times more massive and 23 times more luminous than the Sun with no indication of a debris disk |
|
*83 Leonis |
G8 IV, |
59 |
Leo |
Also HD 99492; binary system with one planet twice the mass of Neptune in a tight orbit around the K2 star. MORE |
|
*Epsilon Reticuli |
K2 IV, |
59 |
Reticulum |
Also HD 27442; binary system consisting of an orange subgiant with 5 times the luminosity and 6 times the diameter of the Sun, plus a white dwarf at 240 AU; the subgiant harbors one Jupiter-mass planet at 1.27 AU that may host a family of moons. MORE |
|
Iota Centauri |
A2 |
59 |
Centaurus |
White star with a debris disk; substantially older than Vega and Fomalhaut |
|
Beta Pictoris |
A5 |
63 |
Pictor |
Young white star with massive debris disk 10 times the diameter of the Solar System; several planets are likely but remain unconfirmed. MORE |
|
*HD 189733 |
K1, M5 |
63 |
Vulpecula |
Orange star with a transiting Hot Jupiter whose mass and radius are well determined; small red binary companion in a non-coplanar orbit at about 200 AU |
|
*HD 217107 |
G8 |
64 |
Pisces |
One Hot Jupter and a second planet with more than twice Jupiter's mass in a highly eccentric orbit at a distance of more than 4 AU. MORE |
|
Aldebaran |
K5 III, |
65 |
Taurus |
Red giant star 25 times the diameter and 2.5 times the mass of the Sun, plus distant red dwarf companion; radial velocity observations hint at a brown dwarf or gas giant companion that remains unconfirmed |
|
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References |
Site Index |
Glossary |
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