Closest star approach to the sun

Pair of stars buzzed the solar system 70,000 years ago

Scholz star

STELLAR FLYBY  A pair of dim red stars, shown in an illustration, passed within 0.8 light-years of the sun (left) roughly 70,000 years ago.

Michael Osadciw/Univ. of Rochester

Stars generally don’t rub shoulders with one another. Scholz’s star, however, is an exception. Roughly 70,000 years ago, the star — or, more precisely, the pair of stars orbiting each other — came within about 0.8