Magnitude 14.81 Constellation Cancer | Rotation 11 hours Apparent magnitude (V) 14.81 | |
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Similar EZ Aquarii, Struve 2398, Lacaille 9352, YZ Ceti, Ross 128 | ||
DX Cancri is the variable star identifier for a small star in the northern zodiac constellation of Cancer the crab. With an apparent visual magnitude of 14.81, it is much too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Visually viewing this star requires a telescope with a minimum aperture of 16 in (41 cm). Based upon parallax measurements, DX Cancri is located at a distance of 11.8 light-years (3.6 parsecs) from Earth. This makes it the 18th closest star (or star system) to the Sun.
This star has a stellar classification of M6.5V, identifying it as a type of main sequence star known as a red dwarf. It has about 9% of the mass of the Sun and 11% of the Sun's radius. The outer envelope of the star has an effective temperature of 2,840 K, giving it the cool red-orange glow of an M-type star. This is a flare star that has random, intermittent changes in brightness by up to a fivefold increase.
This star has been examined for excess emission of infrared radiation caused by cold circumstellar dust, but none was found. It is a proposed member of the Castor Moving Group of stars that share a common trajectory through space. This group has an estimated age of 200 million years.