Gliese 877's bolometric luminosity is just 2.3% of the Sun's.[5] It shines with an apparent magnitude of +10.22, so it cannot be seen with the naked eye. Nevertheless, it is considerably brighter than other red dwarfs, such as Proxima Centauri, the closest red dwarf to the Solar System; in particular, it is almost 14 times more luminous than Proxima. Of spectral type M3V,[2] its effective temperature is 3390 K.[5] It does not appear to be a variable star.[2]
Gliese 877 is 28.1 light years from the Solar System.[1] Known stars close to it are β Hydri and ζ Tucanae, respectively 4.5 and 6.2 light years.[6]