Epsilon Indi

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Epsilon Indi
Diagram showing star positions and boundaries of the Indus constellation and its surroundings
Cercle rouge 100%.svg

Location of ε Indi (circled)
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation Indus
Right ascension 22h 03m 21.658s ± 2.11[1]
Declination −56° 47′ 09.52″ ± 1.50[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 4.8310 ± 0.0005[1]
Spectral type K5V + T1 + T6[2]
U−B color index 1.00[3]
B−V color index 1.056 ± 0.016[1]
Radial velocity (Rv) −40.4[4] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: 3960.93 ± 0.24[1] mas/yr
Dec.: −2539.23 ± 0.17[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π) 276.06 ± 0.28[1] mas
Distance 11.81 ± 0.01 ly
(3.622 ± 0.004 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV) 6.89[5]
ε Ind A
Mass 0.762 ± 0.038[2] M
Radius 0.732 ± 0.006[2] R
Luminosity (bolometric) 0.22[note 1] L
Surface gravity (log g) 4.65 ± 0.15[3] cgs
Temperature 4,630[2] K
Metallicity [Fe/H] −0.06[2] dex
Rotation 23 days[6]
Rotational velocity (v sin i) 1.46[2] km/s
Age 1.3[7] Gyr
ε Ind Ba/Bb
Mass Ba: 0.066 M
Bb: 0.047[8] M
Radius Ba: 0.08 R
Bb: 0.08[8] R
Other designations
CP(D) −57°10015, GCTP 5314.00, GJ 845, HD 209100, HIP 108870, HR 8387, LHS 67, SAO 247287, FK5 825, UGP 544.[4]
Database references

Epsilon Indi (ε Ind, ε Indi) is a star system approximately 12 light-years away from the Earth in the constellation of Indus consisting of a K-type main-sequence star, ε Indi A, and two brown dwarfs, ε Indi Ba and ε Indi Bb, in a wide orbit around it.[9] The brown dwarfs were discovered in 2003. ε Indi Ba is an early T dwarf (T1) and ε Indi Bb a late T dwarf (T6) separated by 0.6 arcseconds, with a projected distance of 1460 AU from their primary star.


The constellation Indus (the Indian) first appeared in Johann Bayer's celestial atlas Uranometria in 1603. The 1801 star atlas Uranographia, by German astronomer Johann Elert Bode, places Epsilon Indi as one of the arrows being held in the left hand of the Indian.[10]

In 1847, Heinrich Louis d'Arrest compared the position of this star in several catalogues dating back to 1750, and discovered that it possessed a measureable proper motion. That is, he found that the star had changed position across the celestial sphere over time.[11] In 1882–3, the parallax of Epsilon Indi was measured by astronomers David Gill and William L. Elkin at the Cape of Good Hope. They derived a parallax estimate of 0.22 ± 0.03 arcseconds.[12] In 1923, Harlow Shapley of the Harvard Observatory derived a parallax of 0.45 arcseconds.[13]

During Project Ozma in 1960, this star was examined for artificial radio signals, but none were found.[14] In 1972, the Copernicus satellite was used to examine this star for the emission of ultraviolet laser signals. Again, the result was negative.[15] Epsilon Indi leads a list, compiled by Margaret Turnbull and Jill Tarter of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, of 17,129 nearby stars most likely to have planets that could support complex life.[16]


Epsilon Indi distance estimates

Source Parallax, mas Distance, pc Distance, ly Distance, Pm Ref.
Callandreau (1886) 220 ± 30 4.5+0.7
Shapley (1923) ~ 450 ~ 2.2 ~ 7.2 ~ 68.6 [13]
Woolley et al. (1970) 291 ± 7 3.44 ± 0.08 11.21+0.28
Gliese & Jahreiß (1991) 288.9 ± 6.1 3.46 ± 0.07 11.29+0.24
van Altena et al. (1995) 289.3 ± 8.8 3.46+0.11
Perryman et al. (1997)
275.76 ± 0.69 3.626 ± 0.009 11.828 ± 0.03 111.9 ± 0.28 [20]
Perryman et al. (1997)
273.7 ± 6.9 3.65 ± 0.09 11.92+0.31
van Leeuwen (2007) 276.06 ± 0.28 3.622 ± 0.004 11.815 ± 0.012 111.78 ± 0.11 [1]
RECONS TOP100 (2012) 276.07 ± 0.28[note 2] 3.622 ± 0.004 11.814 ± 0.012 111.77 ± 0.11 [22]

Non-trigonometric distance estimates are marked in italic. The best estimate is marked in bold.


Epsilon Indi is a main-sequence star of spectral type K4.5V. The star has only about three-fourths the mass of the Sun.[23] Its surface gravity is slightly higher than the Sun's.[3] The metallicity of a star is the proportion of elements with higher atomic numbers than helium, being typically represented by the ratio of iron to hydrogen compared to the same ratio for the Sun; Epsilon Indi is found to have about 87% of the Sun's proportion of iron in its photosphere.[2]

The corona of Epsilon Indi is similar to the Sun, with an X-ray luminosity of 2×1027 ergs s−1 and an estimated coronal temperature of 2×106 K. The stellar wind of this star expands outward, producing a bow shock at a distance of 63 AU. Downstream of the bow, the termination shock reaches as far as 140 AU from the star.[24]

This star has the third highest proper motion of any star visible to the unaided eye, after Groombridge 1830 and 61 Cygni,[25] and the ninth highest overall.[26] This motion will move the star into the constellation Tucana around 2640 AD.[27] Epsilon Indi has a space velocity relative to the Sun of 86 km/s,[3][note 3] which is unusually high for what is considered a young star.[28] It is thought to be a member of the ε Indi moving group of at least sixteen population I stars.[29] This is an association of stars that have similar space velocity vectors, and therefore most likely formed at the same time and location.[30]

As seen from Epsilon Indi, the Sun is a 2nd-magnitude star in Ursa Major, near the bowl of the Big Dipper.[note 4]


Artist's conception of the Epsilon Indi system showing Epsilon Indi and the brown-dwarf binary companions.

In January 2003, astronomers announced the discovery of a brown dwarf with a mass of 40 to 60 Jupiter masses in orbit around Epsilon Indi at a distance of at least 1,500 AU.[31][32] In August 2003, astronomers discovered that this brown dwarf was actually a binary brown dwarf, with an apparent separation of 2.1 AU and an orbital period of about 15 years.[8][33] Both brown dwarfs are of spectral class T; the more massive component, ε Indi Ba, is of spectral type T1–T1.5 and the less massive component, Epsilon Indi Bb, of spectral type T6.[8]

Evolutionary models[34] have been used to estimate the physical properties of these brown dwarfs from spectroscopic and photometric measurements. These yield masses of 47 ± 10 and 28 ± 7 times the mass of Jupiter, and radii of 0.091 ± 0.005 and 0.096 ± 0.005 solar radii, for Epsilon Indi Ba and Epsilon Indi Bb, respectively.[35] The effective temperatures are 1300–1340 K and 880–940 K, while the log g (cm s−1) surface gravities are 5.50 and 5.25, and their luminosities are 1.9 × 10–5 and 4.5 × 10–6 the luminosity of the Sun. They have an estimated metallicity of [M/H] = –0.2.[8]

Measurements of the radial velocity of Epsilon Indi by Endl et al. (2002)[36] appear to show a trend that indicated the presence of a planetary companion with an orbital period of more than 20 years. A substellar object with minimum mass of 1.6 Jupiter masses and orbital separation of roughly 6.5 AU could explain the observed trend. If confirmed, it would be a true Jupiter-analogue.

A visual search using the ESO's Very Large Telescope found one potential candidate. However, a subsequent examination by the Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS showed that this was a background object.[37] As of 2009, a search for an unseen companion at 4 μm failed to detect an orbiting object. These observations further constrained the hypothetical object to be 5–20 times the mass of Jupiter, orbiting between 10–20 AU and have an inclination of more than 20°. Alternatively, it may be an exotic stellar remnant.[38]

New radial-velocity measurements on Epsilon Indi, using the Echelle spectrometer on the HARPS telescope, following up on Endl et al. (2002) research findings, were published in a paper recently by M. Zechmeister et al. in 2013. The new findings confirm that, quoting the paper, "Epsilon Ind A has a steady long-term trend still explained by a planetary companion".[39] This updated research refines the radial-velocity trend previously observed and now indicate the presence of a planetary companion with an orbital period of greater than 30 years.[39] A gas giant with a minimum mass of 0.97 Jupiter masses and a minimal orbital separation of roughly 9.0 AU could explain the observed trend.[note 5] 9.0 AU is about the same distance out as Saturn. If confirmed, this would not quite qualify the planet as a true Jupiter analogue because it orbits considerably further out than 5.0 AU.[39] Not only does it orbit further out than Jupiter, but Epsilon Indi A is also dimmer than the Sun, so it would only receive about the same amount of energy per square meter from Epsilon Indi A as Uranus does from the Sun. The radial-velocity trend was observed through all the observations so far taken using the HARPS telescope but due to the long time period predicted for just one orbit of the object around Epsilon Indi A, more than 30 years, the astrometric phase coverage is not yet complete.[39]

This star has been examined in the infrared band of the electromagnetic spectrum in an effort to find an excess of radiation. The presence of an infrared excess can be taken as an indication of a debris disk orbiting the star. Such a disk can be formed from the collisions of planetesimals that survive from the early period of the star's protoplanetary disk. However, no such excess was discovered around Epsilon Indi.[40]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ From L=4πR2σTeff4, where L is the luminosity, R is the radius, Teff is the effective surface temperature and σ is the Stefan–Boltzmann constant.
  2. ^ Weighted parallax based on parallaxes from van Altena et al. (1995) and van Leeuwen (2007).
  3. ^ The space velocity components are: U = −77; V = −38, and W = +4. This yields a net space velocity of \begin{smallmatrix}\sqrt{77^2\ +\ 38^2\ +\ 4^2}\ =\ 86\end{smallmatrix} km/s.
  4. ^ From Epsilon Indi the Sun would appear on the diametrically opposite side of the sky at the coordinates RA=10h 03m 21s, Dec=56° 47′ 10″, which is located near Beta Ursae Majoris. The absolute magnitude of the Sun is 4.8, so, at a distance of 3.63 parsecs, the Sun would have an apparent magnitude \begin{smallmatrix}m\ =\ M_v\ +\ 5\cdot((\log_{10}\ 3.63)\ -\ 1)\ =\ 2.6\end{smallmatrix}.
  5. ^ Kepler's Third Law, assuming a circular orbit gives \begin{smallmatrix}\frac{4 \pi^2}{T^2} = \frac{G (M+m)}{R^3}\end{smallmatrix}. The mass and period are known from the paper,[39] so the semimajor axis can be calculated using \begin{smallmatrix}R = \sqrt[3]{\frac{G(M+m)T^2}{4\pi^2}}\end{smallmatrix} .


  2. ^ a b c d e f g Demory, B.-O.; et al. (October 2009). "Mass-radius relation of low and very low-mass stars revisited with the VLTI". Astronomy and Astrophysics 505 (1): 205–215. arXiv:0906.0602. Bibcode:2009A&A...505..205D. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200911976. 
  3. ^ a b c d Kollatschny, W. (1980). "A model atmosphere of the late type dwarf Epsilon INDI". Astronomy and Astrophysics 86 (3): 308–314. Bibcode:1980A&A....86..308K. 
  4. ^ a b "SIMBAD Query Result: LHS 67 -- High proper-motion Star". Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2007-07-11. 
  5. ^ Jimenez, Raul; Flynn, Chris; MacDonald, James; Gibson, Brad K. (March 2003). "The Cosmic Production of Helium". Science 299 (5612): 1552–1555. arXiv:astro-ph/0303179. Bibcode:2003Sci...299.1552J. doi:10.1126/science.1080866. PMID 12624260. 
  6. ^ Kaler, Jim. "Epsilon Indi". Stars. University of Illinois. Retrieved 2010-05-03. 
  7. ^ Lachaume, R.; Dominik, C.; Lanz, T.; Habing, H. J. (1999). "Age determinations of main-sequence stars: combining different methods". Astronomy and Astrophysics 348: 897–909. Bibcode:1999A&A...348..897L.  — This paper gives a median log age = 9.11, with a range of min = 8.91 and max = 9.31. This corresponds to 1.3 Gyr, with an error range of 0.8–2.0 Gyr.
  8. ^ a b c d e King, R. R. et al. (February 2010), "ɛ Indi Ba, Bb: a detailed study of the nearest known brown dwarfs", Astronomy and Astrophysics 510, arXiv:0911.3143, Bibcode:2010A&A...510A..99K, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200912981 
  9. ^ High-resolution infrared spectroscopy of the brown dwarf ε Indi Ba
  10. ^ Scholz, Ralf-Dieter; McCaughrean, Mark (2003-01-13). "Discovery of Nearest Known Brown Dwarf". ESO. Retrieved 2008-07-02. [dead link]
  11. ^ D'Arrest, M. (1847). "On proper motion of ε Indi". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 8: 16. Bibcode:1847MNRAS...8...16D. 
  12. ^ a b Callandreau, O. (1886). "Revue des publications astronomiques. Heliometer determinations of Stellar parallax, in the southern hemisphere, by David Gill and W. L. Elkin". Bulletin Astronomique (in French) 2 (1): 42–44. Bibcode:1885BuAsI...2...42C. 
  13. ^ a b Shapley, Harlow (1923). "Epsilon Indi". Harvard College Observatory Bulletin 789 (789): 2. Bibcode:1923BHarO.789Q...2S. 
  14. ^ Burnham, Robert; Luft, Herbert A. (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-23568-8. 
  15. ^ Lawton, A. T. (1975). "CETI from Copernicus". Spaceflight 17: 328–330. Bibcode:1975SpFl...17..328L. 
  16. ^ Stahl, Jason (January 2007). "20 Things You Didn't Know About... Aliens". Discover. Archived from the original on 2007-02-21. Retrieved 2007-03-02. 
  17. ^ Woolley R.; Epps E. A.; Penston M. J.; Pocock S. B. (1970). "Woolley 845". Catalogue of stars within 25 parsecs of the Sun. Retrieved 2014-09-28. 
  18. ^ Gliese, W. and Jahreiß, H. (1991). "Gl 845". Preliminary Version of the Third Catalogue of Nearby Stars. Retrieved 2014-09-28. 
  19. ^ Van Altena W. F., Lee J. T., Hoffleit E. D. (1995). "GCTP 5314". The General Catalogue of Trigonometric Stellar Parallaxes, Fourth Edition. Retrieved 2014-09-28. 
  20. ^ Perryman et al. (1997). "HIP 108870". The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues. Retrieved 2014-09-28. 
  22. ^ "RECONS TOP100". THE ONE HUNDRED NEAREST STAR SYSTEMS brought to you by RECONS (Research Consortium On Nearby Stars). 2012. Retrieved 2014-09-28. 
  23. ^ Research Consortium On Nearby Stars, Georgia State University (January 1, 2012). "The 100 nearest star systems". RECONS. Retrieved 2012-06-11. 
  24. ^ Müller, Hans-Reinhard; Zank, Gary P. (2001). "Modeling the Interstellar Medium-Stellar Wind Interactions of λ Andromedae and ε Indi". The Astrophysical Journal 551 (1): 495–506. Bibcode:2001ApJ...551..495M. doi:10.1086/320070. 
  25. ^ Weaver, Harold F. (1947). "The Visibility of Stars Without Optical Aid". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 59 (350): 232–243. Bibcode:1947PASP...59..232W. doi:10.1086/125956. 
  26. ^ Staff (2007-05-04). "High Proper Motion Stars: Interesting Areas to View". ESA. Retrieved 2006-08-10. 
  27. ^ p. 296, Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy, Patrick Moore and Robin Rees, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011.
  28. ^ Rocha-Pinto, Helio J.; Maciel, Walter J.; Castilho, Bruno V. (2001). "Chromospherically Young, Kinematically Old Stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics 384 (3): 912–924. arXiv:astro-ph/0112452. Bibcode:2002A&A...384..912R. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20011815. 
  29. ^ Eggen, O. J. (1971). "The zeta Herculis, sigma Puppis, ε Indi, and eta Cephei Groups of Old Disk Population Stars". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 83 (493): 251–270. Bibcode:1971PASP...83..251E. doi:10.1086/129119. 
  31. ^ Scholz, Ralf-Dieter; McCaughrean, Mark (2003-01-13). "Discovery of Nearest Known Brown Dwarf: Bright Southern Star Epsilon Indi Has Cool, Substellar Companion". European Southern Observatory. Retrieved 2006-05-24. [dead link]
  32. ^ Scholz, R.-D.; McCaughrean, M. J.; Lodieu, N.; Kuhlbrodt, B. (February 2003). "ε Indi B: A new benchmark T dwarf". Astronomy and Astrophysics 398 (3): L29–L33. arXiv:astro-ph/0212487. Bibcode:2003A&A...398L..29S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20021847. 
  33. ^ Volk, K.; Blum, R.; Walker, G.; Puxley, P. (2003). "epsilon Indi B". International Astronomical Union Circular (IAU) 8188 (8188): 2. Bibcode:2003IAUC.8188....2V. 
  34. ^ E.g., Baraffe, I.; Chabrier, G.; Barman, T.; Allard, F.; Hauschildt, P. H. (May 2003). "Evolutionary models for cool brown dwarfs and extrasolar giant planets. The case of HD 209458". Astronomy and Astrophysics 402 (2): 701–712. arXiv:astro-ph/0302293. Bibcode:2003A&A...402..701B. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030252. 
  35. ^ McCaughrean, M. J. et al. (January 2004). "ε Indi Ba, Bb: The nearest binary brown dwarf". Astronomy and Astrophysics 413 (3): 1029–1036. arXiv:astro-ph/0309256. Bibcode:2004A&A...413.1029M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20034292. 
  36. ^ Endl, M.; Kürster, M.; Els, S.; Hatzes, A. P.; Cochran, W. D.; Dennerl, K.; Döbereiner, S. (2002). "The planet search program at the ESO Coudé Echelle spectrometer. III. The complete Long Camera survey results". Astronomy and Astrophysics 392 (2): 671–690. arXiv:astro-ph/0207512. Bibcode:2002A&A...392..671E. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20020937. 
  37. ^ Geißler, K.; Kellner, S.; Brandner, W.; Masciadri, E.; Hartung, M.; Henning, T.; Lenzen, R.; Close, L.; Endl, M.; Kürster, M. (2007). "A direct and differential imaging search for sub-stellar companions to epsilon Indi A". Astronomy and Astrophysics 461 (2): 665–668. arXiv:astro-ph/0611336. Bibcode:2007A&A...461..665G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065843. 
  38. ^ Janson, M.; et al. (August 10, 2009). "Imaging search for the unseen companion to ε Ind A – improving the detection limits with 4 μm observations". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 399 (1): 377–384. arXiv:0906.4145. Bibcode:2009MNRAS.399..377J. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15285.x. 
  39. ^ a b c d e Zechmeister, M.; Kürster, M; Endl, M.; Lo Curto, G.; Hartman, H.; Nilsson, H.; Henning, T.; Hatzes, A.; Cochran, W. D. (April 2013). "The planet search programme at the ESO CES and HARPS. IV. The search for Jupiter analogues around solar-like stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics 552: pp62. arXiv:1211.7263. Bibcode:2013A&A...552A..78Z. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201116551. .
  40. ^ Trilling, D. E.; et al. (February 2008). "Debris Disks around Sun-like Stars". The Astrophysical Journal 674 (2): 1086–1105. arXiv:0710.5498. Bibcode:2008ApJ...674.1086T. doi:10.1086/525514. 

External links[edit]

Coordinates: Sky map 22h 03m 21.6571s, −56° 47′ 09.514″