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Issue A&A
Volume 366, Number 3, February II 2001
Page(s) L13 - L17
Section Letters
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20010001



A&A 366, L13-L17 (2001)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20010001

New neighbours: II. An M9 dwarf at ${\vec d}\sim$ 4 pc, DENIS-P J104814.7-395606.1

X. Delfosse1, 2, T. Forveille3, 2, E. L. Martín4, J. Guibert5, 6, J. Borsenberger7, F. Crifo6, C. Alard6, N. Epchtein8, P. Fouqué9, 10, G. Simon6 and F. Tajahmady5, 6

1  Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
2  LAOG, Observatoire de Grenoble, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble, France
3  Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation, 65-1238 Mamaloha Highway, Kamuela, HI 96743, USA
4  Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
5  Centre d'Analyse des Images de l'INSU, 61 avenue de l'Observatoire, 75014 Paris, France
6  Observatoire de Paris (DASGAL/UMR-8633), 75014 Paris, France
7  Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
8  Observatoire de Nice, BP 4229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France
9  DESPA, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place J. Janssen, 92195 Meudon Cedex, France
10  European Southern Observatory, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19, Chile

(Received 2 November 2000 / Accepted 30 November 2000 )

Abstract
We present the discovery of a previously unknown member of the immediate solar neighbourhood, DENIS-P J104814.7-395606.1 (hereafter DENIS 1048-39), identified while mining the DENIS database for new nearby stars. A HIRES echelle spectrum obtained with the 10-m Keck telescope shows that it is an M9 dwarf. DENIS 1048-39 has a very bright apparent magnitude (I=12.67) for its spectral type and colour (I-J=3.07), and is therefore very nearby. If it is single its distance is only $4.1 \pm 0.6$ pc, ranking it as between our 12th and 40th closest neighbour. It is also the closest star or brown dwarf with a spectral type later than M7V. Its proper motion was determined through comparison of Sky atlas Schmidt plates, scanned by the MAMA microdensitometer, with the DENIS images. At 1.52´´yr-1 it primarily attests the closeness of DENIS 1048-39 and hence its dwarf status. These characteristics make it an obvious target for further detailed studies.


Key words: astronomical data base: surveys -- astrometry and celestial mechanism: astrometry -- stars: low mass, brown dwarfs -- stars: late-type

Offprint request: X. Delfosse, delfosse@obs.ujf-grenoble.fr

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