Wolf 359

Wolf 359

Wolf 359 is a small and dim star in the Leo constellation. It lies just 7.86 light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest stars to our solar system. Because it is so faint, you need a large telescope to see it.

As a red dwarf, Wolf 359 is one of the least massive and faintest stars known. Its surface temperature is about 2,800 K. The star has a very strong magnetic field, much stronger than that of our Sun. This makes Wolf 359 a flare star, meaning it sometimes suddenly brightens. Scientists think Wolf 359 is still relatively young, probably less than a billion years old. So far, no planets have been confirmed to orbit this star, but astronomers continue to study it to learn more about stars like this.

Observation history and name

Wolf 359 was first seen by astronomers because it moved quickly across the sky compared to other stars. This fast movement showed that the star was close to Earth. In 1917, a German astronomer named Max Wolf measured this movement with special photographs. He made a list of fast-moving stars in 1919, and Wolf 359 was number 359 on that list.

Later, in 1928, scientists measured how much Wolf 359 seemed to move each year. This helped them learn how far it was from Earth. For a long time, it was the faintest and least massive star known until another star, VB 10, was found in 1944. In 1969, Wolf 359 got brighter for a short time, showing that it is a type of star called a flare star.

Max Wolf astrophotography proper motions parallax Mount Wilson Observatory arcseconds VB 10 infrared variable stars flare stars

Properties

Wolf 359 is a small, cool star called a red dwarf. It is one of the nearest stars to the Sun, about 7.86 light-years away. Because it is so dim, you need a large telescope to see it.

This star is very small and not very bright. It has only about 11% of the Sun's mass and a radius just 14.4% that of the Sun. It is made mostly of hydrogen and will burn this fuel for a very long time—about eight trillion years—before it eventually fades into a white dwarf. Wolf 359 sometimes suddenly brightens for a short time due to magnetic activity. This is common for stars like it.

Search for planets

Scientists are looking for planets around Wolf 359. In 2019, some researchers thought they found two possible planets using special telescopes in Chile and Hawaii. But later studies showed that one of these possible planets was not really there—it was just the star spinning.

More recent observations have not confirmed the second possible planet either. We still do not know for sure if Wolf 359 has any planets. The studies also showed that there are no big, warm planets very close to Wolf 359.

In popular culture

Wolf 359 appeared in an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. The show first aired on November 7, 1964. The star is also known for the Battle of Wolf 359 in the Star Trek universe. Today, a space station around the star is where the Wolf 359 (podcast) takes place.