Proxima Centauri Facts

• At 4.2 light years away Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to the sun, but as it is so small and dim it cannot be viewed with the naked eye.
• The star can be found in the Centaurus constellation, a centaur is a Greek mythological half man half horse creature, proxima is Latin for next or nearest.
• The red dwarf Proxima Centauri is part of the three star Alpha Centauri system, the other two stars, Alpha Centauri A and B, are similar to our own sun.
• Proxima Centauri is extremely distant from its two companions, orbiting them at a distance of around 1.2 trillion miles (1.9 trillion km).
• Stars like our sun exist for a few billion years, red dwarfs like Proxima Centauri burn their fuel at a much lower rate and can therefore exist far longer.
• In August 2016 it was announced that an Earth sized planet had been discovered orbiting the habitable zone around Proxima Centauri, the planet named Proxima b could possibly have liquid water on its surface.
• Proxima b is the closest known planet outside our solar system.
• The star Proxima Centauri was discovered in 1915 by the Scottish born astronomer Robert Innes.

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Proxima Centauri is a very small red dwarf with a radius of around 60,000 miles (97,000 km), which is around 14% the size of our sun. Proxima Centauri is estimated to have a mass of around 12% of that of the sun. Proxima Centauri is estimated to have surface temperatures of around 3000C (5400F), around 55% as hot as the sun. Red dwarfs emit far less energy than larger stars, its luminosity is less than one percent of that of our sun.

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Also Known As: Alpha Centauri C

Distance From Earth: 4.2 light years

Constellation: Centaurus

Star Type: Red Dwarf - M Class

Mass: 12% of the Sun

Luminosity: 0.17% of the Sun

Diameter: 120,000 miles (193,000 km) - 14% of the Sun

Temperature: Approx 3,000C (5,400F)

Age: Approx 5 billion years old

Rotation Period: 84 days

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