49 Exoplanetary Systems Within 65 Light Years (20 Parsecs)

in order of increasing distance in light years
see diagram


Star

Spectral Type

Distance

Constellation

Remarks

Epsilon Eridani

K2

10.5

Eridanus

Also HD 22049; young orange star with a massive outer debris disk, 2 inner asteroid belts, and 1 detected giant planet at about 3.4 AU. MORE

GJ 674

M2.5

14.7

Ara

Red dwarf star with a single Hot Neptune 11 times as massive as Earth in a somewhat eccentric orbit. MORE

GJ 876

M4

15.4

Aquarius

Red dwarf hosting the closest multiple exoplanetary system, with 4 known planets, of which the 3 most massive orbit in a classic Laplace resonance; the system's non-resonant innermost planet is a Hot Super Earth only 6.8 times as massive as Earth. MORE

GJ 832

M1.5

16

Indus

Red dwarf with 1 gas giant about 60% as massive as Jupiter in a low-eccentricity orbit at 3.4 AU; potential host for icy exomoons

GJ 581

M3

20

Libra

Red dwarf with 1 Hot Neptune and 3 Super Earths (masses 2, 5, and 7 times Earth). The largest Super Earth orbits in the proposed habitable zone. MORE

GJ 667C

M1.5,
K

23

Scorpio

Red dwarf in a triple star system with 1 hot Super Earth; stars A and B are K-type dwarfs in a fairly close binary orbit, while star C, the planet host, orbits them at a distance of 100 AU or more

Fomalhaut

A3

25

Piscis Austrinus

Also HD 216956. White star with a dusty debris ring and 1 gas giant planet orbiting just inside the ring. One of the few exoplanetary systems identified by direct imaging. 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. MORE

GJ 849

M3.5

29

Aquarius

Relatively massive red dwarf, more metallic than the Sun, with a Jupiter twin orbiting at 2.35 AU in a nearly circular orbit (e=0.07); potential icy moons; potential terrestrial planets. MORE

GJ 433

M1.5

29

Hydra

Red dwarf with 1 hot Super Earth

GJ 317

M3.5

30

Pyxis

Lightweight red dwarf with a Jupiter-mass planet at 0.95 AU that is a potential host for icy exomoons; an additional gas giant is likely on a wider orbit

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 1 transiting Hot Neptune; additional stable orbits may be possible in the habitable zone and beyond. MORE

GJ 649

M1.5

34

Hercules

Relatively massive red dwarf with 1 Saturn-mass planet on a moderately eccentric orbit (e=0.3) just beyond 1 AU; low-mass planets on interior orbits are possible

Pollux

K0 III

34

Gemini

Also Beta Geminorum and HD 62509; red giant whose progenitor was an A-type star; 1 known gas giant at 1.6 AU

HIP 57050

M4

36

Ursa Major

Red dwarf with 1 Saturn-mass planet in the habitable zone; potential host for exomoons

GJ 86

K1, D

36

Eridanus

Also HD 13445; 1 close-in gas giant 4 times as massive as Jupiter and a white dwarf star orbiting at 20 AU. MORE

54 Piscium

K0, T

36

Pisces

Also HD 3651; 1 Saturn-mass planet in a close but highly elliptical orbit (e=0.63) and a brown dwarf companion (20-60 Jupiter masses) at 480 AU

GJ 179

M3.5

40

Orion

Red dwarf with a moderately eccentric gas giant (e=0.21) whose minimum mass is smaller than Jupiter's orbiting at 2.4 AU; potential icy moons and potential terrestrial planets

55 Cancri

G8, M4

41

Cancer

Yellow primary with a small red binary companion at 1000 AU, plus 1 Hot Super Earth and 4 additional ice and gas giant planets; the outer planet, with 4 times Jupiter's mass, orbits at 5.8 AU and might host a family of icy moons. MORE

HD 69830

K0

41

Puppis

Orange star with 3 Neptune-mass planets orbiting within 0.63 AU, plus a dusty asteroid belt beyond 1 AU. MORE

HD 40307

K2

42

Dorado

Orange star with 3 Super Earths orbiting starward of the system's habitable zone. MORE

HD 147513

G3, D

42

Scorpio

Very wide binary system consisting of a G star with a white dwarf companion at 4000 AU; the yellow star has 1 Jupiter-mass planet on a highly eccentric orbit

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 (750 AU) with 3 giant planets orbiting the F8 star, which is brighter and more massive than the Sun; the outermost planet, with 3.75 times Jupiter's mass, might host a family of large 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 68 years; the orange subgiant star, with almost 5 times the Sun's diameter, has 1 planet at least 1.6 times Jupiter's mass orbiting at 2 AU; potential host for scorched exomoons. MORE

47 Ursae Majoris

G0

46

Ursa
Major

Also HD 95128; yellow star, slightly brighter and older than the Sun, with 3 giant planets beyond the habitable zone in unusually circular obits; potential hosts for exomoons. MORE

HIP 79431

M3

47

Scorpio

Relatively massive red dwarf with 1 gas giant at least twice the mass of Jupiter on a moderately eccentric orbit inside the system ice line

Mu Arae

G3

50

Ara

Also HD 160691; 1 Hot Neptune or Super Earth in a star-grazing orbit and 3 giant planets at greater distances; 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)

Tau Bootis

F7, M2

51

Bootes

Wide binary harboring a single Hot Jupiter with almost 4 times Jupiter's mass, orbiting the F7 star at a distance of 0.046 AU

GJ 676A

M0

52

Ara

Relatively massive red dwarf harboring 1 large gas giant with 4 times Jupiter's mass, orbiting beyond the system ice line; potential host for icy exomoons

GJ 777

G6 IV,
M

52

Cygnus

Also HD 190360; triple system with a yellow subgiant and a distant pair of M stars; 1 Hot Neptune and 1 gas giant at 4 AU with more than 1.5 times Jupiter's mass. MORE

HD 128311

K0

54

Bootes

Two planets more massive than Jupiter orbiting in a 2:1 mean motion resonance, plus a debris disk analogous to the Kuiper Belt. MORE

HD 7924

K0

55

Cassiopeia

Orange star with 1 Super Earth or Hot Neptune on a circular orbit with a period of 5.4 days

Iota
Horologii

G0

56

Horologium

Also HD 17051 and HR 810; 1 gas giant twice as massive as Jupiter orbiting starward of the habitable zone; may host a family of moons

HD 10647

F8

56

Eridanus

Young yellow-white star with a debris belt plus 1 Jupiter-sized planet that may host exomoons

Rho Coronae Borealis

G0

57

Corona
Borealis

Mature star, brighter and larger (but slightly less massive) than the Sun, with possible debris disk and 1 Jupiter-mass planet in close orbit

GJ 3021

G6, M5

57

Hydrus

Also HD 1237; yellow star with a very small red binary companion at 70 AU; the primary hosts 1 planet 3 times as massive as Jupiter in a highly elliptical orbit dominating the habitable zone

83 Leonis

G8 IV,
K2

59

Leo

Also HD 99492; binary consisting of a yellow subgiant and a smaller, dimmer K2 star with 1 planet twice the mass of Neptune in a tight orbit. MORE

HD 154345

G8

59

Hercules

Cool yellow star with a Jupiter analog traveling in a circular orbit (e=0.08) whose semimajor axis is 4.36 AU and whose period is about 9.7 years; Earth-mass planets possible in the habitable zone

70 Virginis

G4

59

Virgo

Also HD 117176; debris disk analogous to the Kuiper Belt plus 1 enormous planet with more than 7 times Jupiter's mass orbiting at a distance equivalent to that of Mercury from the Sun

14 Herculis

K0

59

Hercules

Also HD 145675; the star is more than 3 times as metallic as the Sun; its single confirmed planet, with about 5 times Jupiter's mass, orbits at 2.8 AU and is a potential host for exomoons; a second gas giant in a wider orbit is predicted but so far unconfirmed. MORE

HD 87883

K0

59

Leo

Mature orange star with one gas giant on an elliptical long-period orbit (e=0.54, period 7.5 years)

Pi Mensae

G1

59

Mensa

Also HD 39091; sunlike G star with a single planet 10 times as massive as Jupiter in a highly eccentric orbit

Epsilon Reticuli

K2 IV,
D

59

Reticulum

Also HD 27442; binary system whose main component is an orange subgiant or giant, 5 times brighter than the Sun and perhaps 6 times larger, with a white dwarf companion at 240 AU and 1 Jupiter-mass planet at 1.27 AU that may host a family of scorched moons. 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 Jupiter and a second planet with twice Jupiter's mass traveling in a highly eccentric orbit at a distance of more than 4 AU. MORE

HD 192263

K2

65

Aquila

One Jupiter-mass planet in close orbit


Notes

Last revised April 2010

All distances are expressed in light years (3.26 light years = 1 parsec)
Data on masses and orbital dynamics are obtained from individual discovery papers; from the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia (EPE); and from Butler et al., Catalog of Nearby Exoplanets. Where available, distances follow the Catalog of Nearby Exoplanets. EPE provides slightly different distances for 55 Cancri, 51 Pegasi, Tau Bootis, and Iota Horologii, and substantially different distances for 70 Virginis and Pi Mensae. Distances listed in EPE would place the last 2 systems outside the 20-parsec sphere.

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