The Cosmos · Humanity's Nearest Stars
4.24 Light-Years Away
Triple Stars
4.24 Light-Years
5,790 K
Proxima b, c, d
Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to our Sun, located just 4.24 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. This triple star system consists of Alpha Centauri A (Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centauri B (Toliman), and Proxima Centauri—the nearest individual star to Earth.
Alpha Centauri A is a yellow star similar to our Sun, while Alpha Centauri B is a slightly smaller, cooler orange star. The two orbit each other every 80 years. Proxima Centauri, a small red dwarf, orbits this pair at a greater distance and hosts the potentially habitable exoplanet Proxima b.
The Breakthrough Starshot initiative proposes sending tiny spacecraft to Alpha Centauri at 20% the speed of light, potentially reaching the system within a human lifetime. This system represents humanity's first realistic interstellar destination and a beacon for future exploration.
A yellow G-type star, 1.1 times the Sun's mass with surface temperature of 5,790 K. The brighter component of the binary pair visible as a single star to the naked eye.
An orange K-type star, slightly smaller and cooler than our Sun. Together with Alpha A, they orbit a common center every 80 years.
The closest star to Earth—a red dwarf just 4.24 light-years away. Despite being the nearest, it's invisible to the naked eye due to its dimness.
Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri. Could potentially harbor liquid water and conditions suitable for life.
Proposed mission to send light-sail spacecraft to Alpha Centauri at 20% light speed, reaching the system in approximately 20 years.
Alpha Centauri is the third-brightest star in Earth's night sky, prominent in the Southern Hemisphere as pointer to the Southern Cross.
Alpha Centauri represents the frontier of human astronomical ambition. The 2016 discovery of Proxima b—an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone—electrified the scientific community. Subsequent discoveries of Proxima c and possibly d expanded our understanding of this system.
The system serves as the primary target for interstellar exploration concepts. From Breakthrough Starshot's light-sail probes to theoretical fusion-powered spacecraft, Alpha Centauri embodies humanity's dream of reaching another star. It also serves as a testbed for exoplanet detection techniques and comparative stellar astrophysics.
Alpha Centauri has been known since ancient times as a bright Southern Hemisphere star. European astronomers identified it as a binary system in 1689. Proxima Centauri was discovered in 1915 by Scottish astronomer Robert Innes at the Union Observatory in South Africa.
The confirmation of Proxima Centauri's association with Alpha Centauri came in the 1990s. The discovery of Proxima b in 2016 marked a turning point in exoplanet science—the nearest potentially habitable world to Earth. Future missions may one day send humanity's first interstellar ambassadors to explore these stellar neighbors.
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