Proxima Centauri
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star that is likely a part of the Alpha Centauri star system and is the closest star to the Sun at a distance of 4.22 light years. It is in the constellation of Centaurus.
Proxima Centauri was found to share the same proper motion as Alpha Centauri in 1915 by Robert Innes while he was Director of the Union Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In 1951, Harlow Shapley said that Proxima Centauri was a flare star. Past photographic records showed that the star displayed a measureable increase in magnitude about 8% of the time, making it the most active flare star then found.
[change] Characteristics
Red dwarfs are usually far too faint to be seen with the naked eye. It has an apparent magnitude of 11 while its absolute magnitude is a very dim 15.5. Even from Alpha Centauri A or B, Proxima would only be seen as a 5th magnitude star.
Proxima Centauri has been the closest star to the Sun for about the last 32,000 years and will be so for about another 9,000 years, when it will be replaced by Barnard's Star.
