GJ 1061 / STELLAR DOSSIER

GJ 1061

11.98 light-years from Sol

A nearby red dwarf whose small planetary tugs reveal a compact system.

Stellar view ↗

01
Artist’s impression of GJ 1061
M5.5 V · red dwarf

A faint light with a tightly packed family.

Stellar conditions ↗

02
EFFECTIVE TEMPERATURE2,953 K

Cooler than Sol, still incandescent.

GJ 10612,953 K
Sol5,770 K
Shared scale 0–10,000 K · effective, not core temperature

Evolution ↗

03
CURRENT PHASE

A long-lived main sequence.

  1. NOWHydrogen fusion
  2. INTERIORDeep convection
  3. OUTLOOKSlow fuel consumption
A broad low-mass stellar evolution sequence, not an age estimate or a countdown.

Photosphere & activity ↗

05
An imagined oblique view of the gaseous photosphere. Granulation, color and exposure are illustrative, not a resolved map of this star.Above the glowing horizon ↗ ARTIST’S IMPRESSION · 3 VIEWS

Diameter comparison ↗

06
0.156 × Sol

Luminosity ↗

07
≈ 0.00167 × Sol

Total energy emitted · all wavelengths

Estimated from size and temperature · target beam below 1% of Sol
Sources ↗
GJ 1061

Instrument detail

Artist’s impression of GJ 1061

Artist’s impression · structure and color are illustrative.

Small enough to escape the eye.

GJ 1061 lies about twelve light-years away. Its low luminosity makes this close neighbor inconspicuous in visible light. The size comparison puts its diameter at roughly one sixth of Sol’s; that is a relative stellar diameter, not the apparent size of the glowing disk in these illustrations.

Three worlds in a compact arrangement.

The known planets b, c and d complete their orbits in roughly 3.2, 6.7 and 13.1 days. Their proximity lets their mutual gravity leave subtle signatures in the observations. The 2025 analysis models those interactions to constrain masses and orbital inclination. All three known planets have their own dossiers here.

The horizon is made of gas.

A stellar photosphere is a light-emitting layer, not a crust. Looking toward its curved edge would not reveal a place to land. Our three scenes change viewpoint from a broad horizon to a magnetic patch and an arch of plasma. They illustrate stellar processes without claiming that these particular structures have been photographed on GJ 1061.

A long chapter powered from within.

Low-mass red dwarfs release energy through hydrogen fusion and mix their interiors deeply. Their fuel can last far longer than the Sun’s. This broad evolutionary picture explains the slow outlook shown on the console; it does not supply an exact age or predict the date of a future event.

STELLAR PROFILESIZE · TEMPERATURE · EVOLUTION

A star in perspective.

DIAMETER / SOL0.156 ×

About 15.6% of our Sun’s diameter.

Circles compare diameter, not mass or luminosity. Adopted radius 0.156 ± 0.005 solar radii; radius and diameter ratios are identical. Dreizler et al. (2025).

EFFECTIVE TEMPERATURE

Cooler than Sol, still incandescent.

  • GJ 1061≈ 2,953 K
  • Sol≈ 5,770 K

Shared scale: 0–10,000 K. Effective temperature describes total emitted energy per unit surface area; it is not the core temperature. Effective temperature 2,953 ± 98 K, adopted in Dreizler et al. (2025).

LIFE PHASE

A long-lived main sequence.

  1. NOWHydrogen fusion
  2. INTERIORDeep convection
  3. OUTLOOKSlow fuel consumption

A broad low-mass stellar evolution sequence, not an age estimate or a countdown.

Research · size and temperature ↗
LIFE & HUMAN SURVIVAL / THE STAR ITSELF
POSSIBILITY FOR LIFEIncompatible with known life

The star’s hot gaseous layers cannot provide the cool, stable environment required by life as we know it. Conditions on any orbiting worlds are a separate question.

WITHOUT PROTECTIONNot survivable

No breathable air or solid ground. Extreme heat and radiation make a close encounter lethal; a meaningful survival timer depends on where you are.

NASA · stellar structure and evolution ↗

A long-lived main sequence.

  1. NOWHydrogen fusion
  2. INTERIORDeep convection
  3. OUTLOOKSlow fuel consumption

A broad low-mass stellar evolution sequence, not an age estimate or a countdown.

Research ↗

Low-mass red dwarfs release energy through hydrogen fusion and mix their interiors deeply. Their fuel can last far longer than the Sun’s. This broad evolutionary picture explains the slow outlook shown on the console; it does not supply an exact age or predict the date of a future event.

How much energy leaves the star?

≈ 0.00167 × Sol

This compares total radiant power across all wavelengths, not just visible light or apparent brightness in our sky. The beams on the dashboard share a linear length scale.

The estimate combines this log’s diameter ratio (0.156 × Sol) and effective temperature (2,953 K): luminosity scales with radius squared and temperature to the fourth power. It is derived from rounded values, not an independent luminosity measurement.

Adopted radius 0.156 ± 0.005 solar radii; radius and diameter ratios are identical. Dreizler et al. (2025).

Effective temperature 2,953 ± 98 K, adopted in Dreizler et al. (2025).

Swinburne University · Stefan–Boltzmann law ↗

Small enough to escape the eye.

GJ 1061 lies about twelve light-years away. Its low luminosity makes this close neighbor inconspicuous in visible light. The size comparison puts its diameter at roughly one sixth of Sol’s; that is a relative stellar diameter, not the apparent size of the glowing disk in these illustrations.

Three worlds in a compact arrangement.

The known planets b, c and d complete their orbits in roughly 3.2, 6.7 and 13.1 days. Their proximity lets their mutual gravity leave subtle signatures in the observations. The 2025 analysis models those interactions to constrain masses and orbital inclination. All three known planets have their own dossiers here.

The horizon is made of gas.

A stellar photosphere is a light-emitting layer, not a crust. Looking toward its curved edge would not reveal a place to land. Our three scenes change viewpoint from a broad horizon to a magnetic patch and an arch of plasma. They illustrate stellar processes without claiming that these particular structures have been photographed on GJ 1061.

A long chapter powered from within.

Low-mass red dwarfs release energy through hydrogen fusion and mix their interiors deeply. Their fuel can last far longer than the Sun’s. This broad evolutionary picture explains the slow outlook shown on the console; it does not supply an exact age or predict the date of a future event.

An imagined oblique view of the gaseous photosphere. Granulation, color and exposure are illustrative, not a resolved map of this star.

Above the glowing horizon

An imagined oblique view of the gaseous photosphere. Granulation, color and exposure are illustrative, not a resolved map of this star.

A hypothetical cooler magnetic patch surrounded by luminous convection. The pattern is invented; dark regions are plasma, not solid ground.

Inside a magnetic region

A hypothetical cooler magnetic patch surrounded by luminous convection. The pattern is invented; dark regions are plasma, not solid ground.

An imagined prominence above the stellar limb. Its shape and brightness do not reconstruct an observed flare; filtered colors reveal a possible plasma structure.

An arch beyond the limb

An imagined prominence above the stellar limb. Its shape and brightness do not reconstruct an observed flare; filtered colors reveal a possible plasma structure.

Stellar images are artistic interpretations, not resolved photographs of this star.