Scholz's star

Scholz's star,

dim binary star system, consisting of a red dwarf and brown dwarfbrown dwarf,
in astronomy, celestial body that is larger than a planet but does not have sufficient mass to convert hydrogen into helium via nuclear fusion as stars do. Also called "failed stars," brown dwarfs form in the same way as true stars (by the contraction of a swirling
..... Click the link for more information.
, in the constellation Monoceros, apparent magnitudemagnitude,
in astronomy, measure of the brightness of a star or other celestial object. The stars cataloged by Ptolemy (2d cent. A.D.), all visible with the unaided eye, were ranked on a brightness scale such that the brightest stars were of 1st magnitude and the dimmest stars
..... Click the link for more information.
 18.3. The red dwarf is a tiny star, with less than ten percent the mass of the sun; the brown dwarf lacks enough mass to promote fusion at its core. About 20 light-years away, it was discovered in 2013 by the astronomer Ralph-Dieter Scholz, and later determined to have come within 0.8 light-years of the solar system some 70,000 years ago, passing through the Oort cloud (see cometcomet
[Gr.,=longhaired], a small celestial body consisting mostly of dust and gases that moves in an elongated elliptical or nearly parabolic orbit around the sun or another star. Comets visible from the earth can be seen for periods ranging from a few days to several months.
..... Click the link for more information.
) in the closest known encounter of another star with the sun. Proxima Centauri (see Alpha CentauriAlpha Centauri
, brightest star in the constellation Centaurus and 3d-brightest star in the sky; also known as Rigil Kent or Rigil Kentaurus; 1992 position R.A. 14h39.1m, Dec. −60°49'. Its apparent magnitude is −0.26.
..... Click the link for more information.
), currently the closest star to the sun, is about 4.28 light-years away.