Gliese 581

Gliese 581 () is a red dwarf star of spectral type M3V which hosts a planetary system, 20.5 light-years (6.3 parsecs) away from Earth in the constellation Libra. Its estimated mass is about a third of that of the Sun, and it is the 101st closest known star system to the Sun. Gliese 581 is one of the oldest, least active M dwarfs known. Its low stellar activity improves the likelihood of its three planets retaining significant atmospheres, and lessens the sterilizing impact of stellar flares.

History of observations Gliese 581 is known at least from 1886, when it was included in Eduard Schönfeld's Southern Durchmusterung (SD)—the fourth part of the Bonner Durchmusterung. The corresponding designation is BD−07 4003.

Characteristics

The name Gliese 581 refers to the catalog number from the 1957 survey Gliese Catalogue of Nearby Stars of 965 stars located within 20 parsecs of the Earth. Other names of this star include BD−07°4003 (BD catalogue, first known publication) and HO Librae (variable star designation). It does not have an individual name such as Sirius or Procyon. The star is a red dwarf with spectral type M3V, located 20.5 light-years (6.3 parsecs) away from Earth. It is located about two degrees north of Beta Librae, the brightest star in the Libra constellation. Its mass is estimated to be approximately a third that of the Sun, and it is the 101st closest known star system (including brown dwarfs) to the Sun. An M-class dwarf star such as Gliese 581 has a much lower mass than the Sun, causing the core region of the star to fuse hydrogen at a significantly lower rate. From the apparent magnitude and distance, astronomers have estimated an effective temperature of 3200 K and a visual luminosity of 0.2% of that of the Sun. However, a red dwarf such as Gliese 581 radiates primarily in the near infrared, with peak emission at a wavelength of roughly 830 nm (estimated using Wien's displacement law, which assumes the star radiates as a black body), so such an estimate will underestimate the star's total luminosity. (For comparison, the peak emission of the Sun is roughly 530 nm, in the middle of the visible part of the spectrum.) When radiation over the entire spectrum is taken into account (not just the part that humans are able to see), something known as the bolometric correction, this star has a bolometric luminosity 1.2% of the Sun's total luminosity. A planet would need to be situated much closer to this star in order to receive a comparable amount of energy as the Earth. The region of space around a star where a planet would receive roughly the same energy as the Earth is sometimes termed the "Goldilocks Zone", or, more prosaically, the habitable zone. The extent of such a zone is not fixed and is highly specific for each planetary system. Gliese 581 is a very old star. Its slow rotation makes it very inactive, making it better suited than most red dwarfs for having habitable planets. Gliese 581 is classified as a variable star of the BY Draconis type, and has been given the variable star designation HO Librae. This is a star that exhibits variability because of the presence of star spots combined with the rotation of the star. However, the measured variability is close to the margin of error, and, if real, is most likely a long term variability. Its brightness is stable to 1%. Gliese 581 emits X-rays.

Planetary system

The Gliese 581 planetary system is the gravitationally bound system comprising the star Gliese 581 and the objects that orbit it. The system is known to consist of at least three planets discovered using the radial velocity method, along with a debris disk. The system's notability is due primarily to early exoplanetology discoveries, between 2008 and 2010, of possible terrestrial planets orbiting within its habitable zone and the system's relatively close proximity to the Solar System at 20 light years away. However, its observation history has been controversial due to false detections, and the radial velocity method yields little information about the planets themselves beyond their orbit and mass. The confirmed planets are believed to be located close to the star with near-circular orbits. In order of distance from the star, these are Gliese 581e, Gliese 581b, and Gliese 581c. The letters represent the discovery order, with b being the first planet to be discovered around the star.

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