Ross 248

system

Ross 248 is a red dwarf 10.3 light-years away in Andromeda. Its motion through space will carry it within about 3.0 light-years of the Sun in roughly 36,000 years — closer than Proxima Centauri — making it, for a time, our nearest star. No planets are confirmed.

Open in 3D viewSee Ross 248 in the live, interactive 3D map

Key facts

Type

Red dwarf

Distance

10.31 light-years

Confirmed planets

Science

Classification

Type: Single red-dwarf system
Central star: Ross 248 — M5V red dwarf (~2800 K, ~0.14 M☉)

Planets

Confirmed planets: None

A future close approach

Distance now: 10.31 light-years
In ~36,000 years: ~3.0 light-years · briefly the Sun's nearest star, closer than Proxima

How we know

Note: No planets are confirmed. The future close approach is a real prediction from the star's measured motion. The map position is symbolic; the present distance is 10.31 light-years.

Discovery & history

Name: Named for the astronomer Frank Elmore Ross and its catalogue number.

Catalogued by Frank Elmore Ross in 1926. Voyager 2 will pass within ~1.7 light-years of it in about 40,000 years.

Images

Where to find it — in Andromeda, the Chained Princess (IAU constellation chart). It is an unresolved point of light; its surface has never been imaged. — IAU / Sky & Telescope, R. Sinnott & R. Fienberg (CC BY 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons

Images from open archives · credit shown per image