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Wolf 359 is the fourth closest star at only 7.7 light years; only [[Proxima Centauri]], [[Alpha Centauri]] and [[Barnard's Star]] being closer.  The star can be found in the constellation of [[Leo]].  One of the faintest known stars, it cannot be seen by the unaided eye and has a visual magnitude of only 13.54.

Wolf 359 is the fourth closest star at only 7.7 light years; only [[Proxima Centauri]], [[Alpha Centauri]] and [[Barnard's Star]] being closer.  The star can be found in the constellation of [[Leo]].  One of the faintest known stars, it cannot be seen by the unaided eye and has a visual magnitude of only 13.54.

Discovered in 1918 by German astronomer Max Wolf, whom the star is named after, Wolf 359 is a dim [[red dwarf]] with a [[spectral class]] of M6.5.  The star's mass is between 9 and 13 percent of Sol's, and has a diameter of approximately 16 to 19 of Sol's.  The luminosity is a mere .002% of our own star, so dim if Wolf 359 replaced our sun, it would appear only 10 times brighter then the moon from our world.  Like many [[red dwarf|red dwarfs]], Wolf 359 is a [[flare star]] and can violently flare and brighten on occasion<ref>http://www.solstation.com/stars/wolf359.htm</ref>.

Discovered in 1918 by German astronomer Max Wolf, whom the star is named after, Wolf 359 is a dim [[red dwarf]] with a [[Star#Spectral_Type|spectral class]] of M5.8Ve.  The star's mass is between 9 and 13 percent of Sol's, and has a diameter of approximately 16 to 19 of Sol's.  The luminosity is a mere .002% of our own star, so dim if Wolf 359 replaced our sun, it would appear only 10 times brighter then the moon from our world.  Like many [[red dwarf|red dwarfs]], Wolf 359 is a [[flare star]] and can violently flare and brighten on occasion, however these flares are not as intense and are lease frequent then on well known flare stars such as [[Luyten 726-8|UV Ceti]] or [[Proxima Centauri]]<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1983Ap%26SS..95..235G</ref><ref>http://www.solstation.com/stars/wolf359.htm</ref>.

At present there are no known companion bodies orbiting Wolf 359<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2000AJ....119..906S&db_key=AST&high=38e0b7728707947</ref>.  For an Earth like world to have liquid water on its surface (within the [[habitable zone]]), it would have to be only .0042 AU from its parent star.  Such a world would be tidally locked to Wolf 359, and be repeatedly exposed to intense radiation from the occasional flares.

At present there are no known companion bodies orbiting Wolf 359<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2000AJ....119..906S&db_key=AST&high=38e0b7728707947</ref>.  For an Earth like world to have liquid water on its surface (within the [[habitable zone]]), it would have to be only .0042 AU from its parent star.  Such a world would be tidally locked to Wolf 359, and be repeatedly exposed to intense radiation from the occasional flares.