2007-09-05 14:51:05 · 3 answers · asked by Crazy Ray!!! 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The closest known star is Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf star that has a mass of about 10 percent of the Sun. It's distance from us is 4.2 light years. It's a distant companion to Alpha Centauri, which is double star 4.3 light years away. This double star consists of a Sun like yellow main-sequence or hydrogen fusing star and a slightly smaller, fainter and cooler orange companion that circle each other in a period of 80 years with an average separation of about 2 billion miles. Proxima Centauri in turn orbits the bright pair of stars at a distance of nearly 1,000,000,000,000 miles, or a sixth of a light year. It takes a million years or more to circle Alpha Centauri A and B. Because it's on the near side of the Alpha Centauri system, it was given the name Proxima Centauri.
2007-09-05 15:15:56 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Proxima Centauri is the nearest to us (other than our Sun) and it is 4.23 Light Years away from Earth.
2007-09-05 15:15:21 · answer #2 · answered by zahbudar 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
alpha centauri and its about 4.23 light years away. with our current space shuttles it would take about 75,000 years to reach.
2007-09-05 15:38:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋