Gliese 687

Star

Gliese 687 - a red dwarf just 14.8 light-years away in Draco, one of the very nearest stars found to host more than one planet. Two worlds circle it, both detected from the gentle wobble they raise in the star's motion.

Open in 3D viewSee Gliese 687 in the live, interactive 3D map

Key facts

Mass

7.96 × 10²⁹ kg

0.4 M☉

Radius

291,011 km

42% of the Sun's radius

Surface temperature

3,413 K (3140 °C)

Luminosity

8.15 × 10²⁴ W

Spectral type

M3.0V (red dwarf)

Science

Physical

Mass: 7.96 × 10²⁹ kg · 0.4 M☉
Radius: 291,011 km · 42% of the Sun's radius
Density: 7,707 kg/m³ · 7.7× water
Spectral type: M3.0V (red dwarf)

Rotation

Note: A quiet, slowly-rotating red dwarf, well suited to the precise velocity work that found its two planets.

Composition

By mass: A hydrogen/helium red dwarf about 0.40 solar mass and ~2% of the Sun's light, 14.8 light-years away in Draco — one of the very nearest stars, and quiet enough for its planets to be teased out by radial velocity.

Temperature

Surface: 3,413 K (3140 °C)

Radiation & temperature

Luminosity: 8.15 × 10²⁴ W · 0.0213 L☉
Surface temperature: 3,413 K (3140 °C)
Peak wavelength: 849 nm · near-infrared (mostly invisible to the eye)

Discovery & history

Name: A catalogue designation (Gliese 687); the star has no proper name.

A well-known nearby red dwarf; a Neptune-mass planet was found around it in 2014 from precise radial-velocity monitoring, and a second, outer planet was announced in 2020.

Images

Where to find it — in Draco, the Dragon (IAU constellation chart). To the eye it is a single point of light; no telescope has imaged its surface. — IAU / Sky & Telescope, R. Sinnott & R. Fienberg (CC BY 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons

Images from open archives · credit shown per image