Gliese 445

Gliese 445, also known as Gl 445 or AC +79 3888, is a cool red star in the northern sky. It is found in the constellation Camelopardalis, which means "the giraffe." This star is an M-type main sequence star. Like our Sun, it creates energy by changing hydrogen into helium, but it is smaller and cooler.

Gliese 445 is special because it is moving toward our solar system. In about 1.3 million years, it will pass very close to the Sun—closer than any other star we know. This would not harm Earth, but it would change the night sky. Some stars would look like they had moved, and it might affect the paths of comets around the Sun.

Even though Gliese 445 is far away and needs a telescope to see, it helps scientists learn about how stars move through space and how they might interact with our solar system far in the future. Studying stars like this helps us understand more about our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Location

Gliese 445 is a star about 17.1 light-years from Earth. It looks very dim and you need a telescope to see it. It can be seen all night in places north of the Tropic of Cancer.

Gliese 445 is a small, cool star called a red dwarf. Because of this, scientists think it might not be able to support life like our Sun does.

In the far future, about 40,000 years from now, the Voyager 1 spacecraft will pass close to Gliese 445. It will come within 1.6 light-years of the star.

Solar encounter

The star Gliese 445 is moving quickly towards our Sun. In the future, when the Voyager probe passes by Gliese 445, the star will be about 3.45 light-years from the Sun. At that time, Gliese 445 will be almost as close to the Sun as another star called Ross 248. However, it will be too dim to see without a telescope.