New Star in the Neighborhood

tachyonflow writes "Well, it's probably been around for a while, but it's new to us. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that astronomers have discovered a new star only 7.8 light-years from our sun. It's a red dwarf that's not visible to the naked eye from earth. I guess it's time to update those Celestia databases..."

Comments

Dyson sphere?

[Alan Shield]

However, there is a small chance this figure could be revised, he said, since the star appears to be too faint for this distance. Either it is actually further away, he said, or it has unusual properties that make it shine less brightly than other red dwarfs.

Anyone have the numbers on how dim a dyson sphere around a Sol-like star would be?