[5] The apparent visual magnitude of AU Microscopii is 8.73,[2] which is too dim to be seen with the naked eye.

[7] With a stellar classification of M1 Ve,[2] it is a red dwarf star[8] with a physical radius of 75% that of the Sun.

[15] AU Microscopii has been observed in every part of the electromagnetic spectrum from radio to X-ray and is known to undergo flaring activity at all these wavelengths.

[3] Observations of the AU Microscopii system with the James Webb Space Telescope were unable to confirm the presence of previously unknown companions.

[30] Observations with CHEOPS also detected strong TTVs of AU Mic c, which can be explained with planet d on a 12.6 day orbit.

[5] This large debris disk faces the earth edge-on at nearly 90 degrees,[36] and measures at least 200 AU in radius.

At these large distances from the star, the lifetime of dust in the disk exceeds the age of AU Microscopii.

[37] The debris disk is therefore referred to as "gas-poor", as the primordial gas within the circumstellar system has been mostly depleted.

[41] Combining the spectral energy distribution with the surface brightness profile yields a smaller estimate of the radius of the inner hole, 1 - 10 AU.

[42] The inner structure has been compared with that expected to be seen if the disk is influenced by larger bodies or has undergone recent planet formation.

In October 2015 it was reported that astronomers using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) had detected very unusual outward-moving features in the disk.

By comparing the VLT images with those taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2010 and 2011 it was found that the wave-like structures are moving away from the star at speeds of up to 10 kilometers per second (22,000 miles per hour).

[47][46] AU Mic's disk has been observed at a variety of different wavelengths, giving humans different types of information about the system.

Observations at these wavelengths utilize a coronagraphic spot to block the bright light coming directly from the star.

Because light having a wavelength longer than the size of a dust grain is scattered only poorly, comparing images at different wavelengths (visible and near-infrared, for example) gives humans information about the sizes of the dust grains in the disk.

This light is emitted directly by dust grains as a result of their internal heat (modified blackbody radiation).

The disk cannot be resolved at these wavelengths, so such observations are measurements of the amount of light coming from the entire system.