Tau Ceti
Tau Ceti (Gliese 71) is a nearby yellow dwarf star, 11.9 lightyears from the Solar system.[1][2]
Its mass is estimated to be between 81 and 92 percent that of Sol, our sun.[2] Its brightness is 59 percent that of Sol's.
The system has a planetary system, similar to the Solar system.[1] In 2012 Astronomers at the Keck Observatory announced that one of those planet was in the system's habitable zone.[1]
While the star is currently 11.9 lightyears distant, in 43,000 years it comes to its closest approach of 10.6 lightyears.[3]
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
"FOUND: One Planet Orbiting Sun-like Star. Only Twelve Light Years Away. May Be Habitable. – W. M. Keck Observatory". W. M. Keck Observatory. 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
At a distance of twelve light years and visible with the naked eye in the December evening sky, Tau Ceti is the closest single star that has the same spectral classification as our Sun. Its five planets are estimated to have masses between two and six times the mass of the Earth – making it the lowest-mass planetary system yet detected. One of the planets lies in the star’s habitable zone – the so-called Goldilocks Zone with it’s ‘just right’ temperatures for supporting liquid water – and has a mass around five times that of Earth, making it the smallest planet found to be orbiting in the habitable zone of any Sun-like star.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Tau Ceti". Sol Station. 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
- ↑ C. A. L. Bailer-Jones (2015-02-19). "Close encounters of the stellar kind". Astronomy & Astrophysics. EDP Sciences. 575: A35. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201425221. ISSN 0004-6361. Retrieved 2026-06-27.