astronomy

Gliese 1

Gliese 1 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gliese 1 rather than just read about it. In short: Gliese 1 is a red dwarf in the constellation Sculptor, which is found in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the closest stars to the Sun, at a distance of 14.2 light years.

Key takeaways

Gliese 1 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gliese 1 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gliese 1 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gliese 1 is a red dwarf in the constellation Sculptor, which is found in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the closest stars to the Sun, at a distance of 14.2 light years. Because of its proximity to the Earth it is a frequent object of study and much is known about its physical properties and composition. However, with an apparent magnitude of about 8.6 it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye.

History This star's high proper motion was first documented by Benjamin Gould in 1885. At that time the star was identified as Cordoba Z.C. 23h 1584. As it lies very close to the origin of the astronomical right ascension coordinates during the 1950 epoch, it became the first star in both the Gliese Catalogue of Nearby Stars and the Luyten Half-Second star catalogues.

Properties The stellar classification of this star has been rated from M1.5V to M4.0V by various sources. Gliese 1 is estimated to have 33% of the Sun's mass and 38% of the Sun's radius. This star is suspected of being a BY Draconis-type variable star with the provisional variable star designation NSV 15017. It is also suspected of being a flare star. Like other flare stars, it emits X-rays. The temperatures of the layers of the atmosphere of this star have been measured. This star has been examined for an orbiting companion using speckle interferometry in the near infrared part of the spectrum. However, no companion was found to a magnitude limit of 10.5 at 1 AU from the primary, out to a magnitude limit of 12.5 at 10 AU. Radial velocity measurements have likewise failed to reveal the presence of a companion orbiting this star. This search excludes a planet with a few Earth masses orbiting in the habitable zone, or a Jupiter-mass planet orbiting at a radius of 1 AU or less. The radial velocity shows little or no variability, with a measurement precision of less than 20 m/s. The space velocity components of this star are U = +77.2, V = -99.5 and W = −35.6 km/s. It is orbiting through the Milky Way galaxy with an orbital eccentricity of 0.45, and a distance from the galactic core that varies from 3,510 to 9,150 parsecs. By comparison, the Sun is currently 8,500 parsecs from the core. Stars with high peculiar velocities are termed runaway stars. This star has a high peculiar velocity of 111.3 km/s, and the velocity vector for this star may link it with the Tucana-Horologium and/or the AB Doradus stellar associations.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gliese 1

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gliese 1 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gliese 1 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gliese 1 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gliese 1

In research: Gliese 1 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gliese 1 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gliese 1 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1885, BY Draconis variables, Durchmusterung objects, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gliese 1 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gliese 1 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gliese 1 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gliese 1 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gliese 1 in simple terms?

Gliese 1 is a red dwarf in the constellation Sculptor, which is found in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the closest stars to the Sun, at a distance of 14.2 light years.

Why does Gliese 1 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gliese 1?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gliese 1.