Selected Star Systems Within 65 Light Years (20 Parsecs)

in order of increasing distance in light years
see diagram


Star

Spectral Type

Distance

Constellation

Remarks

Alpha
Centauri

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
Major

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 outer debris disk, two inner asteroid belts, and one Jupiter-size planet at about 3.4 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,
D

12

Canis
Minor

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 2 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 4 planets: one Hot Earth, 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
Austrinus

White star with fast rotation and one gas giant planet orbiting just inside a dusty, sharply defined debris ring. MORE

*61 Virginis

G5

28

Virgo

Also HD 115617; near-twin to our Sun with 1 hot Super Earth and 2 Neptune-mass planets orbiting within 0.48 AU, plus dusty debris belts at wider radii

*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

Pictor

Orange star with three Super Earths orbiting well starward of the system's habitable zone. MORE

Capella

G1 III,
G8 III,
M1, M4

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

*GJ 1214

M4.5

42

Ophiuchus

Small red dwarf only 16% as massive as our Sun with a transiting Hot Super Earth whose bulk composition is dominated by water and dissipating gases

*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,
M4

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
Major

Yellow star -- brighter, larger, and older than the Sun -- with 3 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,
M

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,
K2

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,
D

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,
M2

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


* Denotes an exoplanetary system
  All distances are measured in light years (3.26 light years = 1 parsec)

  Last update March 2010

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