The solar neighborhood, 1: Standard spectral types (K5-M8) for northern dwarfs within eight parsecs

Abstract

Spectral types on a standard system are presented for late-type dwarfs within 8 pc. All known main-sequence stars north of -25 deg and with M<SUB>V</SUB> greater than or = 8.00 have been observed, resulting in 92 spectra. Based upon the stellar system density to 5 pc, we estimate that approximately 35 systems in the 8 pc sample are 'missing.' In an effort to reveal these systems, we use an empirical spectral type-M<SUB>V</SUB> relation to estimate distances to additional stars that may lie within 8 pc.