Gliese 445

Gliese 445 (Gl 445 or AC 79 3888) is an M-type main sequence star in the northern part of the constellation Camelopardalis.

Location

Gliese 445 is currently 17.1 light-years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 10.8. It is visible all night long from locations north of the Tropic of Cancer, but not to the naked eye. Because the star is a red dwarf with a mass only a quarter to a third of that of the Sun, scientists question the ability of this system to support life. Gliese 445 is also a known X-ray source.

The Voyager 1 probe will pass within 1.6 light-years of Gliese 445 in about 40,000 years.

Solar encounter

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 1.059 parsecs (3.45 light-years) from the Sun, but with less than half the brightness necessary to be seen with the naked eye. At that time, Gliese 445 will be approximately tied with Ross 248 for being the closest star to the Sun (see List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs#Distant future and past encounters).