# Closer to the stars

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/closer-to-the-stars/40405>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 9, 2000, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/closer-to-the-stars/40405 "2000-11-09T01:49:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![APB9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB9999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB9999)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2000, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/closer-to-the-stars/40405/1 "2000-11-09T01:49:14Z")

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I’m looking for information on the density of stars near the solar system. Specifically, how many stars are there within a sphere, centered on the sun (or earth), of radius five light years, ten light years, fifteen light years, twenty, etc. up to, oh, say, a hundred light years? Where can I find this data?

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2000, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/closer-to-the-stars/40405/2 "2000-11-09T05:06:51Z")

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[http://www.clark.net/pub/nyrath/smap07.html](http://www.clark.net/pub/nyrath/smap07.html)  
will get you to a link to the Gliese near star catalog version 3.0

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**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2000, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/closer-to-the-stars/40405/3 "2000-11-09T14:25:17Z")

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Check out the tables in [this link](http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/1/0,5716,119851+8+110643,00.html) to Brittanica

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**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2000, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/closer-to-the-stars/40405/4 "2000-11-09T14:47:10Z")

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Why do you ask, **APB9999**? Are you writing a space opera or something?

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**Author:** ![APB9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB9999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB9999)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2000, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/closer-to-the-stars/40405/5 "2000-11-10T03:22:53Z")

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Thanks, Karl, Squink. Five, I’m no writer, but I have been following the story this year of all the extra-solar system planets that have been discovered. I’m trying to extrapolate that in my mind to the number of planets that might be within a certain distance of Earth; obviously I need the above info.

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**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2000, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/closer-to-the-stars/40405/6 "2000-11-10T14:13:51Z")

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Lists of some of the nearest stars (the last link is a graphic)

[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bbrowse?book=hsaa&page=50](http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bbrowse?book=hsaa&page=50)  
[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bbrowse?book=hsaa&chap=2&page=0051](http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bbrowse?book=hsaa&chap=2&page=0051)  
[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bbrowse?book=hsaa&chap=2&page=0052](http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bbrowse?book=hsaa&chap=2&page=0052)