HD 101581


HD 101581 is a nearby K-type main-sequence star located in the constellation Centaurus, approximately away, based on a parallax of 78.227 mas. At an apparent magnitude of 7.8, it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye, although it can be viewed with a small telescope.
HD 101581 has a spectral type of K5V, which classifies it as a main sequence star having the core hydrogen converted into helium. It has 0.65 times the Solar mass and 0.63 times the Solar radius while its age is estimated to be about 6.9 billion years old. Its surface has an effective temperature of 4633 K giving it the typical orange hue of a K-type star. The metallicity index of it is, indicating an iron-to-hydrogen ratio 45% that of the Sun.

Planetary system

In 2024, two validated Earth-size planets orbiting HD 101581 were discovered via the transit method by TESS. These planets have orbital periods of 4.5 and 6.2 days, respectively. A candidate third small transiting planet in a wider orbit was possibly detected. The host star is the brightest star with multiple known transiting Earth-size exoplanets, which should enable the atmospheric study of its orbiting planets via transmission spectroscopy in the near-future.