Red dwarf · nearest star
Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri is the nearest known star to the Sun, only 4.24 light-years away. It is a small, cool red dwarf with about 12 % of the Sun's mass and far too faint for the naked eye (11.1 mag).
It belongs to the Alpha Centauri system and orbits the two bright stars Alpha Centauri A and B on a very wide path.
At least two planets orbit Proxima Centauri: Proxima b lies in the habitable zone but is hit by violent flares from its star. Whether it has water or life is unknown.
Key facts
- Distance
- 4.24 light-years
- Star mass
- ≈ 0.12 solar masses
- Brightness
- 11.1 mag
- Planets
- Proxima b, Proxima d
Images
More famous objects
Images: NASA, ESA, ESO, Event Horizon Telescope, Wikimedia Commons. Artist's impressions are labelled as such. Figures from published research, rounded.