Gliese 752

Gliese 752

Gliese 752 is a binary star system in the Aquila constellation. It is close to Earth, about 19.3 light-years (5.9 parsecs) away. The system has two stars, both M-type. These stars are cooler and smaller than our Sun.

The main star is Gliese (GJ) 752 A. It has a magnitude of 9, so it is too dim to see without a telescope. The other star is Gliese (GJ) 752 B, also called VB 10. It is even dimmer, with a magnitude of 17. These two stars orbit a common center, making a binary star system. They are about 74 arc seconds apart, which is roughly 434 times the distance from Earth to the Sun.

Gliese 752 moves quickly across the sky. It travels about 1 arc second each year. It is also very close to the bright star Altair, only 3.85 light years away. From Gliese 752, Altair would look very bright, like Jupiter does from Earth. The name Gliese 752 comes from the Catalogue of Nearby Stars by astronomer Wilhelm Gliese in 1969.

Gliese 752 A characteristics

The primary star, called Wolf 1055, is a red dwarf star. It is smaller and less bright than our Sun and is cooler. This star was first seen by the astronomer Max Wolf. He used a special camera called astrophotography to study stars that move fast across the sky. Wolf added this star to his list in 1919. Sometimes, the star's brightness changes and it can have sudden bursts of energy.

Planetary system

In August 2018, scientists found a planet around the larger star in the Gliese 752 system. They used a special tool called the CARMENES spectrograph at the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain. The planet they found is named HD 180617 (Gliese 752 A). This planet is about the same size as the planet Neptune and could have liquid water.

Gliese 752 B characteristics

Main article: VB 10

Gliese 752 is a pair of stars that orbit each other. In 1944, a small, dim star was found moving around the bigger star. This smaller star is called VB 10. It is very small and not very heavy, but it is still a star. It is a cool red dwarf, so it does not give off much light.

VB 10 is also a variable star, which means its brightness changes sometimes. In 2009, scientists thought they found a planet around VB 10, but later they could not prove this.

Magnetic field

In 1994, the Hubble Space Telescope saw a solar flare on Gliese 752 B. This surprised astronomers because it showed the star has a strong magnetic field. Before this, people thought small red stars like this did not have big magnetic fields. The solar flare showed these stars can make magnetic fields in ways we do not fully understand yet.