Gliese

Gliese refers to the Gliese Catalogue of Nearby Stars, a widely used reference in astronomy, and to Wilhelm Gliese, the German astronomer who compiled it. The catalog focuses on stars in the solar neighborhood, providing names and basic data for stars within a few tens of light-years from the Sun, to support studies of nearby stellar populations and potential planetary systems.

The first edition, published in 1957, listed stars within roughly 20 parsecs of the Sun. A later revision, the Gliese–Jahreiss edition of 1991, expanded the scope to about 25 parsecs and incorporated updated measurements. The catalog introduced the Gliese (or Gliese–Jahreiss) designations used to identify individual stars, many of which have become familiar in exoplanet research.

Objects in the catalog are commonly designated by Gliese numbers, such as Gliese 581, Gliese 436, and Gliese 710. Many Gliese stars are red dwarfs, and several have known exoplanets or are targets of planet-search programs. The nomenclature remains a recognizable shorthand in astronomical literature, even as newer catalogs provide more comprehensive and precise listings.

Significance and modern status: the Gliese catalog is a foundational resource for near-Earth stellar demographics and exoplanet studies. While more extensive surveys and missions have superseded parts of its scope, the Gliese or GJ designations continue to be used for historical context and cross-referencing. Contemporary data on nearby stars are maintained by initiatives such as RECONS and the NASA Exoplanet Archive, which link Gliese entries to precise astrometric data and planetary discoveries.