Wolf 359

Star type
g M5.8 Ve


Distance from Earth
g 7.797 ly

Star Service No.
g NA

Age
g 10 Gy

Diameter/Mass/Temp
g 16% to 19%; 9.2% to 13%; 2230-2600 K

Brightness (xSol)
g 2/100,000; very cool, main sequence red dwarf; flare star so can brighten dramatically from time to time, but flares rarer and not as violent as those observed on Proxima Centauri, Kruger 60 B or UV Ceti

Metallicity
g NA

Comparison to Sol
g NA

Picture of star
g See picture
g See picture
g See picture at upper right (courtesy of ESO)

Star system features
g A fairly extreme red dwarf

Known planets
g None known

Habitable zone
g 0.0042 AU with orbital period of around 8 hours but tidally locked; light emitted by red dwarfs may be too red in color for Earth-type plant life to perform photosynthesis efficiently; at 1 AU, would need a telescope to see its round shape clearly, and daylight would be very dim with only 10 times brightness of full moonlight. On planet 1 AU from star, would need telescope to make out stars' ball shape.

Orbital map
g NA

View from star
g NA

Nearby stars
(Star systems with 10 light years)
Star is good place for supply station for nearby star colonies
g Ross 128, 3.8 ly
g Lalande 21185, 4.1 ly
g Wolf 424 AB, 7.3 ly
g DX Cancri, 7.7 ly
g LP 731-58, 7.7 ly
g Sol, 7.8 ly
g Proxima Centauri, 8.2 ly
g Alpha Centauri AB, 8.3 ly
g Procyon 2, 8.6 ly
g LTT 12352, 8.7 ly
g AD Leonis 8.8 ly
g Sirius AB, 9 ly
g Luyten's Star, 9.8 ly
g DENIS 1048-39, 10 ly

Map locating star system
g See stellar map

Location in Earth sky
g East central part of Constellation Leo, the Lion, south of Chertan or Coxa (Theta Leonis), but much too dim to be seen with naked eye
g See sky map

Other names
g CN Leonis
g Gliese 406
g G 45-20
g LFT 750
g LTT 12923
g LHS 36

Sci-fi mentions
g In "Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “Best of Both Worlds”, star system is site of Borg defeat of Starfleet armada

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