Gliese 412

Gliese 412 is a binary star system located in the constellation Ursa Major. It is one of the nearest stars to our Sun, sitting at a distance of about 16.0 light-years (which is the same as 4.9 parsecs). This system consists of two stars that orbit each other, and they appear separated by an angle of 31.4″ as seen from Earth.

Both stars in the Gliese 412 system are red dwarf stars, which means they are smaller, cooler, and dimmer than our Sun. Red dwarfs like these are actually the most common type of star in the Milky Way galaxy. Although they don’t shine as brightly, their abundance makes them important for understanding how stars form and evolve.

Studying stars like Gliese 412 helps scientists learn more about the structure and behavior of stars, especially smaller ones that can last much longer than larger stars. Because Gliese 412 is relatively close to us, it provides a great opportunity for astronomers to observe and study these kinds of stars in detail.

History of observations

This star system, known as Lalande 21258, was first noted in 1860 by Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander while working on the Bonner Durchmusterung. His assistant, Adalbert Krueger, measured its distance and called it Argelander's Third Star.

Scientists looked for a hidden companion near the star using special telescopes but did not find anything like a large planet or a brown dwarf.

Characteristics

Gliese 412 is a pair of stars that orbit each other. The two stars are quite far apart, about 152 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. If you were standing on one star, the other would look bright in the sky—like the Moon or the planet Venus.

The bigger star is smaller and dimmer than our Sun, while the smaller star is even smaller and fainter. Both stars move together as part of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

X-ray source

The secondary star in the Gliese 412 system is called WX Ursae Majoris. It is a type of star known as a flare star, which means its brightness sometimes increases suddenly. These changes in brightness were first noticed in 1939.

WX Ursae Majoris gives off X-rays, but the other star in the system does not. Scientists learned about its X-ray emissions when they studied the system using the ROSAT satellite.