Kapteyn's Star is a red subdwarf of spectral type M1. It is located about 12.83 light years away from the Earth in the constellation Pictor. It is the closest star with a halo to the Solar System. Since, it has an apparent magnitude of nearly 9, it is visible through binoculars or a telescope.

The star is 30% of the diameter of the Sun but just 1.2% as luminous. It may have been used to be part of the globular cluster Omega Centauri. In 2014, two planets, Kapteyn b and Kapteyn c, were thought to orbit the star. but had a mix of disagreements and agreements, but a study in 2021 showed that both "planets" were just effects of the star's rotation and activity.