Distances of thenearest stars from 20,000 years ago until 80,000 years in the future
Gliese 445 is currently 17.1light-years from Earth and has anapparent magnitude of 10.8. It is visible all night long from locations north of theTropic of Cancer, but not to the naked eye.[10] Because the star is ared dwarf with a mass only a quarter to a third of that of theSun, scientists question the ability of this system to support life.[10] Gliese 445 is also a known X-ray source.[11]
TheVoyager 1 probe will pass within 1.6 light-years of Gliese 445 in about 40,000 years.[12]
While the Voyager probe moves through space towards a 1.6-light-year minimum distance from Gliese 445, the star is rapidly approaching the Sun. At the time the probe passes Gliese 445, the star will be about 1.059parsecs (3.45 light-years) from the Sun,[13] but with less than half the brightness necessary to be seen with the naked eye.[10] At that time, Gliese 445 will be approximately tied withRoss 248 for being the closest star to the Sun (seeList of nearest stars and brown dwarfs#Distant future and past encounters).
^abUrban, S. E.; Zacharias, N.; Wycoff, G. L.; Observatory, U. S. Naval; Washington, D. C. (2004). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: The UCAC2 Bright Star Supplement (Urban+, 2006)".VizieR On-line Data Catalog.Bibcode:2004yCat.1294....0U.
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