Gliese 667 C

Gliese 667 C

system

Gliese 667 C is a red dwarf 23.6 light-years away in Scorpius, the smallest member of a triple star system (it orbits a close pair of orange dwarfs ~230 AU away). It hosts two confirmed planets, including a temperate-zone super-Earth; further claimed planets remain disputed and are not shown.

Open in 3D viewSee Gliese 667 C in the live, interactive 3D map

Key facts

Type
Red dwarf (triple system)
Distance
23.62 light-years
Confirmed planets
2

Science

Classification

Type
Red dwarf in a triple star system
Stars
GJ 667 C (M1.5V host) orbits the K-dwarf pair A+B, ~230 AU away

Planets

Confirmed planets
2 (b, c) — c is a temperate super-Earth
Disputed
Claims of up to seven planets were pared back

Distance

Distance
23.62 light-years

How we know

Note
Two confirmed planets (minimum masses; radii unmeasured). An earlier claim of up to seven planets was reduced to two robust ones — the extra e/f/g signals are disputed and NOT shown. The A/B pair is drawn at a symbolic offset (real ~230 AU). Real distance 23.62 light-years.

Discovery & history

Name
The planet-hosting third component of the GJ 667 triple star system.

The faint C companion of the bright GJ 667 pair was found to host planets by HARPS from 2011; a claim of up to seven planets was pared back to two robust ones.

Images

Where to find it — in Scorpius, the Scorpion (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