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Scholz's Star

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Scholz’s Star, also designated WISE J072003.20-084651.2, is a nearby low-mass binary system in Monoceros. Its components are an M-type red dwarf and a T-type brown dwarf, located about 6.8 parsecs, or 22 light-years, from the Sun. Trajectory studies indicate that the pair passed through the outer Oort Cloud roughly 70,000 years ago, reaching about 0.25 parsec, or 0.8 light-years, from the Sun.

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What is Scholz's Star made of?

Scholz's Star is a nearby low-mass binary system containing an M-type red dwarf and a T-type brown dwarf. Its formal designation is WISE J072003.20-084651.2, and it is about 6.8 parsecs, or 22 light-years, from the Sun.

Did Scholz's Star pass close to the Solar System?

Trajectory studies indicate that the binary passed through the outer Oort Cloud roughly 70,000 years ago. It came within less than a light-year of the Sun, making it one of the closest known stellar encounters in Solar System history. [NASA Science](https://science.nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/a-passing-star-our-suns-near-miss/)

Could Scholz's Star have disrupted the planets?

No meaningful disruption of the major planets is expected because its closest approach was still far beyond the planetary region. The likely effect was limited to a possible gravitational disturbance of some distant Oort Cloud comets. [NASA Science](https://science.nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/a-passing-star-our-suns-near-miss/)

Could humans have seen Scholz's Star during its close approach?

It would still have been far too faint for unaided human vision, despite passing unusually close in astronomical terms. Today the system is about 22 light-years away and requires astronomical instruments to study.

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