AFGK "bright" stars within 10 parsecs
AFGK "bright" stars within 10 parsecs |
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© 2005 Sol Company
Larger map.
Unlike the dimmer red stars,
and white and brown dwarfs,
most of the relatively "bright"
stars (OBAFK spectral types)
located within 10 parsecs (pc)
of Sol are visible to the unaided
Human eye in Earth's night sky.
Summary
VLTI,
ESO
Larger and
jumbo images.
Most of the AFGK bright stars within
10 parsecs are roughly similar to Sol
in in size.
Including Sol itself, around 74 "bright" stars (spectral classes O, B, A, F, G, and K) are currently believed to be located within 10 parsecs (or 32.6 light-years) of Sol. Except for some of the dimmer and more distant orange-red K stars, most of these relatively bright, larger, more massive, but rarer stars can be seen with the unaided Human eye in Earth's night sky. While there are no giant or supergiant stars located with 10 parsecs (pc) of Sol, several stars have fused so much hydrogen and accumulated so much helium ash in their cores that they are beginning to swell and emit more yellow, orange, and red light -- changing their spectral type. As more massive stars exhaust their core hydrogen faster, the largest O and B stars in the 10-parsec Solar neighborhood appear to have already moved off the main sequence and relatively brief, giant and supergiant stages to become white dwarfs and possibly as yet undetected neutron stars and black holes).
Nearby Bright Stars by Type, Number, and Mass
| Spectral or Luminosity Type | Number within 10 Parsecs | Sum of Minimum Solar-Masses | |
| O - Blue Stars | 0 | 0.00 | |
| B - Blue White Stars | 0 | 0.00 | |
| A - Bluish White Stars | 4 | 8.7 | |
| F - Yellowish White Stars | 8 | 8.9 | |
| G - Yellow-Orange Stars | 20 | 18.4 | |
| K - Orange-Red Stars | 42 | 29.6 | |
| Total "Bright" Stars | 74 | 65.5 |
A minimum mass of 0.6 Solar-masses was assumed for orange-red
stars without mass estimates.
Within 10 pc of Sol, astronomers may have detected planets in the Solar System and at least eight other bright stars (Alpha Centauri B, 82 Eridani, Epsilon Eridani, 61 Virginis, Fomalhaut, MLO 4 / Gl 667 C), Vega, and HR 4325 A), as of October 2012. Other than Sol itself, however, only around perhaps 45 "bright" main-sequence stars of spectral types F5 to K5 in some 37 star systems (including such G stars as Tau Ceti, and Alpha Centauri A) may possibly be capable of hosting Earth-type planets in stable orbits within their respective circumstellar habitable zones (CHZs). Within a CHZ orbit, liquid water vital to Earth-type plants and animals should be persistent on an unprotected planetary surface without tidal locking, orbital disruption from another celestial object, frequent flares and super flares, and other luminosity variations from stars evolving of the main sequence as subgiants, giants, or supergiants.
NASA
Larger image.
Among Sol's neighbors within
10 pc, only 38 star systems
may possibly be capable of
hosting Earth-type planets.
Nearby Stars by Brightness, Spectra, and Distance
The following celestial objects are located within 10 parsecs, 32.6 light-years (ly), of Sol.
Other Information
Summary information on red dwarf stars, brown dwarfs, white dwarfs, and all stars and related celestial objects within 10 parsecs are also available.
Up-to-date technical summaries on these stars can be found at: the Research Consortium on Nearby Stars (RECONS) list of the 100 Nearest Star Systems, NASA's NStar Database, and the Astronomiches Rechen-Institut at Heidelberg's ARCNS. Additional information may be available at Roger Wilcox's Internet Stellar Database.
For more information about stars including spectral and luminosity class codes, go to ChView's webpage on The Stars of the Milky Way.
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