The Solar Neighborhood. I. Standard Spectral Types (K5-M8) for Northern Dwarfs Within Eight Parsecs

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_V 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_V relation to estimate distances to additional stars that may lie within 8 pc.