are proxima centuri and alpha centuri the name of same stars?

Answer 1

No. Alpha is the name of a star visible to the unaided eye, at least if you are far enough south. It cannot be seen from anywhere in the United States but it can be seen from Australia. But Proxima is the name of a dim red dwarf star that cannot be seen without a telescope. Proxima is probably orbiting Alpha in a very large, slow orbit, so they are related. And Alpha itself is really two stars, closely orbiting each other, so close that they look like one star without a telescope.

Answer 2

So to sum up: no. "Alpha" is merely the title given to the brightest star in a constellation. Alpha centauri is the brightest star in Centaurus. It took some good observation with telescopes for scientists to realize that Alpha Centauri was actually not one, not two but three stars. Alpha Centauri A (aka Rigel Kentaurus, a G2 V star just like the Sun), Alpha Centauri B and Proxima Centauri.

Alpha Orionis is then scinecespeak for the brightest star in Orion. Know its real name? Give you a hint: sounds almost like the title of that Tim Burton movie starring Mikael Keaton as a sleazy ghost...

Answer 3

Proxima is part of Alpha. Alpha Centauri is actually a multiple-star system. If you look at it with the naked eye you're seeing light from all three constituents stars: it looks like one star, but through a telescope we realize it is three individual stars. The whole system is called Alpha. The components stars are called Alpha Centauri A, -B, and -C.

Alpha Centauri C is the smallest and dimmest and is separated further from the other two; but it happens to be the one very closest to us, and is the closest individual star to the sun. Hence it has the special name Proxima Centauri.

Answer 4

Preceding answers are correct. Proxima is closer, but not nearly as bright, as Alpha.

Answer 5

No they are two different stars. But they are in the same direction and astronomically speaking, not far from us.