Kapteyn's Star

An eighth magnitude M star (HD 33793), notable for its relatively large proper motion (8.7 arc seconds per year) - the second largest known after Barnard's star - and high radial velocity (245 km/s). At a distance of 12.7 light years, it is among the stars nearest to the solar system. Its properties were discovered in 1897 by the Dutch astronomer J. C. Kapteyn (1851-1922), and it lies in the southern constellation Pictor.