Key Information
HIP 56948
| Type | Star |
| Star Type | G5 V (Yellow dwarf) |
| Diameter | 855,930 miles |
| Mass | 0.98 M☉ |
| Temperature | 9,933 °F |
| Distance | 194.2 light years |
| Date of Discovery | Before 1993 |
| Other Names | HD 101364, BD+69 620, SAO 15590 |
Learning Point
- HIP 56948 is essentially the Sun’s long-lost twin, located about 208 light-years away in the constellation Draco. It is the most identical star to our Sun ever discovered, sharing the same size, mass, temperature, and even its specific chemical “recipe.” Because it has the right ingredients to form rocky planets and lacks chaotic “Hot Jupiters” that could destroy them, astronomers view it as a prime candidate for hosting an Earth-like planet. This star is a major focal point in our galaxy.
Project
- Draw a diagram of HIP 56948 and show why and how it is similar to our Sun.
- Overview
Location
| Location | Draco constellation, within the Milky Way |
Fun Facts
- If you put it next to our Sun, you would have a very hard time telling them apart because they are almost the exact same size and brightness!
- This star has the same chemical “ingredients” as our Sun, including the iron and minerals needed to build rocky planets like Earth.
- It is 208 light-years from Earth. If you could drive a car there at highway speeds, it would take you about 2 billion years to arrive!
- Some stars are very “angry” and shoot out giant flares of radiation, but HIP 56948 is very calm and stable, just like our Sun. This makes it a great place for life.
- Because the star is so much like ours, astronomers are using giant telescopes to look for planets orbiting it. They are hoping to find a “Second Earth” hiding in the light of this twin star.
Past Lessons
| 174 | May 5, 2026 | (North America) |