Groombridge 34

Groombridge 34 is one of the closest binary systems to our solar system. Because of its high velocity and closeness to us, a yearly motion of 2,9 arcseconds can be noted. The separation is large; about 40 arcseconds and not too long ago it was discovered that a planet is part of the system too.

Looking through the telescope, a mag 10 star is visible, but this is merely an optical companion. Because of this star it should be easier to see the star’s proper motion over the next decade, maybe even better than Barnard’s star (the fastest known).

The main component is orange-yellow and not very notable, nor is its red companion of mag 11. Hereunder the couple can be seen at the time of its discovery (1810) and where it will be in about 21 years’ time from now. As you can see it’s only a small difference with 2017. But still it shows nicely that there is at least some movement in the otherwise so static looking sky…