Gliese Catalog of Nearby Stars: All Known Stars Within 25 Parsecs of the Sun

The Gliese Catalog of Nearby Stars, 3rd Edition (CNS3) contains all known stars as of 1991 within 25 parsecs of the Sun. It was prepared by Wilhelm Gliese and Hartmut Jahreiss at the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, using trigonometric parallaxes from the Yale Parallax Catalog and photometric calibrations for red dwarfs and white dwarfs. NASA's HEASARC created this database version in February 2001 from a revised CDS/ADC catalog.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the spatial distribution of nearby stars based on trigonometric parallax data.
• Studying stellar properties of red dwarf stars using the color-magnitude calibrations mentioned.
• Comparing photometric and trigonometric parallax methods for distance estimation as described.
• Researching the population of white dwarfs using the applied recipes from McCook and Sion.

Strengths

• Catalog contains all known stars within 25 parsecs of the Sun as of 1991.
• Uses trigonometric parallax data from the Yale Parallax Catalog as its primary source.
• Applies specific photometric calibrations for red dwarf and white dwarf stars.

Limitations

• Data is from 1991, with a last metadata update in 2026; stellar discoveries since then are not included.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Astronomisches Rechen-Institut (Wilhelm Gliese, Hartmut Jahreiss), NASA HEASARC.

Collection Method

Compilation from the Yale Parallax Catalog and application of photometric/spectroscopic parallax methods.

Time Range

Catalog reflects knowledge as of 1991.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 18:27:16.911928; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Stars within 25 parsecs (approximately 81.5 light-years) of the Sun.