{"id":64533,"date":"2024-10-08T11:37:24","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T11:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/903ea676-5eda-4df3-a8c6-22af862b3f38"},"modified":"2024-10-08T11:39:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T11:39:44","slug":"barnards-star-is-the-closest-single-star-to-earth-star-hop-your-way-to-finding-it-with-our-guide","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/barnards-star-is-the-closest-single-star-to-earth-star-hop-your-way-to-finding-it-with-our-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Barnard’s Star is the closest single star to Earth. Star-hop your way to finding it with our guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our guide will help you star-hop across the Milky Way to find one of the nearest stars to the Solar System. <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 08 October 2024 at 11:37 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Barnard’s Star is the closest single star to our Solar System, our Sun and planet Earth.<\/p>

For this reason, many astronomers and stargazers like to track Barnard’s Star down and see what it looks like through a telescope.<\/p>

Only the triple star system Alpha (a) Centauri<\/a> is closer, at a distance of 4.39 lightyears.<\/p>

It is a main-sequence red dwarf with a cool surface temperature of 3,200K (2,900\u00baC), has roughly one sixth of the Sun\u2019s diameter, 16% of its mass and shines with just 0.04% of its luminosity.<\/p>

In October 2024, astronomers announced the discovery of Barnard b<\/a>, a rocky exoplanet orbiting Barnard’s Star.<\/p>

Artist\u2019s impression of Barnard b, a rocky exoplanet discovered orbiting Barnard\u2019s star. Credit: ESO\/M. Kornmesser<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Barnard’s star discovery<\/strong><\/h2>

Barnard’s Star is named after Edward Emerson Barnard (1857-1923), an American astronomer whose phenomenally keen eyesight and skill with the telescope led to him becoming one of the greatest observers in history.<\/p>

In 1888, he became a staff member of the Lick Observatory in California, where he established himself as an accomplished astrophotographer.<\/p>

With the equipment there, he discovered comets<\/a> (he\u2019d previously discovered 10 visually) and captured in excess of 4,000 images of the Milky Way.<\/p>

Barnard\u2019s careful comparison of images taken between 1894 and 1916 revealed a faint star in the constellation of Ophiuchus<\/a> with a very interesting property.<\/p>

He observed it moving quickly against the background stars. In fact, over a period of 180 years Barnard’s Star traverses a distance equivalent to the diameter of the Moon.<\/p>

The star\u2019s so-called proper motion is a result of its true motion in space, and a large value is indicative of an object that lies close, astronomically speaking, to our Solar System.<\/p>

We now know that Barnard\u2019s Star has the largest proper motion of any known stellar body and lies just 5.94 lightyears from Earth.<\/p>

\"Photograph
Photograph of a comet, captured in 1892 by Edward Emerson Barnard (1857-1923) an American astronomer. Credit: Universal History Archive\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Locating Barnard’s Star in Ophiuchus<\/strong><\/h2>

Barnard\u2019s Star really is a fascinating object and well worth tracking down, particularly as it is the nearest star to the Sun.<\/p>

Since it resides in northeastern Ophiuchus, summer is the best time to look for it.<\/p>

At magnitude +9.5, it is a viable, though faint, 7×50 or 10×50 binocular object from a dark location with Moon-free skies.<\/p>

It is possible to use the setting circles of an astronomical telescope\u2019s equatorial mount to locate celestial objects.<\/p>

If you wish to use this method to find Barnard’s Star, you will probably find it easiest to offset from Altair<\/a> in the constellation of Aquila<\/a>.<\/p>

\"A
Chart showing the location of Altair in Aquila. Click to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Here are the coordinates (2000.0) of both Altair and Barnard\u2019s Star:<\/p>

Altair<\/strong><\/h3>