Lacaille 8760

Lacaille 8760 is a star Naine red in the Constellation of the Microscope. Although it is slightly too weak to be visible with the naked eye, this star is one of closest to the Sun at a distance from approximately 12,9 light-years. It was listed for the first time in a catalog of 1763 which was published in posthumous title by the French abbot Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. It observed this star in the southern sky starting from an observatory located at the Cape of Good Hope.

In the past, this star was classified anywhere between the spectral standard K7 and m2. In 1979, the astronomer Irish Patrick Byrne discovered that it was a eruptive star which accepted the variable star designation AX Microscopii . As an eruptive star it is relatively calm, entering in eruption on average less once per day.

This star revolves around the galaxy on an elliptic orbit with a rather strong Excentricité of 0,23. Its nearer approach to the Sun took place approximately 20.000 years ago. Because of its low mass, this star has one lifespan estimated at approximately 7 × 10¹⁰ years, is much more than our Sun.

In spite of the efforts of the astronomers, no planet was still detected orbits about it around this star.

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SolStation article
The Brightest Red Dwarf by Ken Croswell, Sky & Telescope, July 2002.

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Lacaille 8760

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Reference