Luyten’s Star

modern name for GJ 273 = LHS 33 = BD+5 1668. Early parallax estimate of this high pm star (3.5”/yr) by Luyten & Ebbighausen (1935) of plx=0.40+-0.15” suggested it might be one of the closest stars. Current values: M3.5V star (V=9.9 mag) at d=3.8 pc. Two confirmed exoplanets and two candidates.

Etymology and History

discovery note (screenshot) of Luyten's star

Shortly afterwards, “Luyten’s Star” started appearing in works: A list of nearby stars in an astronomy lab manual by R.K. Marshall) (1938), a Sky & Telescope article in 1941, a story on van de Kamp’s astrometric work by John Michels (1943), a textbook by Fath (1944), etc. "Luyten" in Allen (1963; Astrophysical Quantities), “Luyten’s Flare Star” in Burnham (1978). "Luyten's Star" in Spite & Lahmek (1982), Fernandez (1983), Sinnott & Perryman (1997), Cox (2000), Kaler (2006). Name used sporadically in astro conference posters/proceedings: Biller+(2010), Vakoch+(2018), Marfil+(2018), Lazaro+(2019). Name has also appeared in numerous books including fiction. Name is already in SIMBAD: http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Luyten's+star. Wikipedia

IAU Star Name

WGSN discussed the name in 2022 but decided (for the time being) not to name stars after people.