Kapteyn's Star - History

History

The star now known as Kapteyn's Star was originally cataloged by the Dutch astronomer, Jacobus Kapteyn, in 1898. While he was reviewing star charts and photographic plates he noted the star's very high proper motion of more than 8 arc seconds per year. Later, the star became referred to as Kapteyn's Star, in honor of its discoverer. At that time, it had the highest proper motion of any star known, dethroning Groombridge 1830. With the discovery of Barnard's Star in 1916, Kapteyn's Star dropped to second place, where it remains.

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