Astronomy · Stars
Proxima Centauri
The closest known star to the Sun.
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Type
- Red dwarf (M-type)
- Distance
- About 4.24 light-years
- System
- Part of the Alpha Centauri triple system
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center · NASA media (public domain)
Our nearest stellar neighbor
Proxima Centauri is the closest known star to the Sun, at about 4.24 light-years. Despite that proximity it is far too faint to see with the unaided eye, because it is a red dwarf — a small, cool star that emits a fraction of the Sun's light.
Part of a triple system
Proxima is gravitationally associated with the bright pair Alpha Centauri A and B, making the Alpha Centauri system a triple. Proxima orbits the pair at a great distance and currently sits slightly closer to us than they do.
A flare star with planets
Like many red dwarfs, Proxima is a flare star, prone to sudden bursts of activity. It is known to host at least one exoplanet, Proxima b, which makes the nearest star also one of the nearest known planetary systems.
Knowledge connections
How this connects across Asteria Star — scientific, cultural, and astrological links are kept separate.
Scientific connections
- Part ofAlpha Centauri
- Parent ofProxima Centauri bNearest known exoplanet to the Solar System.
- Associated withDistance & Scale Explorer
- Associated withThe Local Stellar Neighbourhood in 3D
Related
- Orbited byProxima Centauri b
- Orbited byProxima Cen d
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