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Hubble Spies a Really Cool Star

A Really Cool Star: The Dim, Low-Temperature GL 105C
This is a Hubble Space Telescope picture of one of the least massive and coolest stars even seen (upper right). It is a diminutive companion to the K dwarf star called GL 105A (also known as HD 16160) seen at lower left. The binary pair is located 27 light-years away in the...

This Hubble telescope picture reveals one of the least massive and coolest stars ever seen [upper right]. This star is a diminutive companion to the K dwarf star called GL 105A (also known as HD 16160), seen at lower left. The pair is located 27 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus.

Based on the Hubble observation, astronomers calculate that the cool, lightweight star, called GL 105C, is 25,000 times fainter than GL 105A in visible light. If the dim companion were at the distance of our Sun, it would be only four times brighter than the full moon.

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 20, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Credits

D. Golimowski (Johns Hopkins University), and NASA