Proxima Centauri (Latin : meaning "next to" or "nearest to") is a
red dwarfAccording to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a red dwarf star is a small and relatively cool star, of the main sequence, either late K or M spectral type....
starA star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
about 4.2
light-yearA light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s (4.0 km) distant in the
constellationIn modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
of
CentaurusCentaurus is a bright constellation in the southern sky. One of the largest constellations, Centaurus was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations.-Stars:...
. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, the Director of the
Union ObservatoryUnion Observatory was an astronomical observatory located in the suburb Observatory, Johannesburg, South Africa. It bears IAU code 078.Known as the Transvaal Observatory in its early years, it became the Republic Observatory in 1961...
in
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and is the
nearest known star to the
SunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, although it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Its distance to the second- and third-nearest stars, which form the bright
binaryA binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...
Alpha CentauriAlpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus...
, is 0.237 ± 0.011 ly (15,000 ± 700
astronomical unitAn astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
s [AU]). Proxima Centauri may be part of a triple star system with Alpha Centauri A and B.
Because of the proximity of this star, its
angular diameterThe angular diameter or apparent size of an object as seen from a given position is the “visual diameter” of the object measured as an angle. In the vision sciences it is called the visual angle. The visual diameter is the diameter of the perspective projection of the object on a plane through its...
can be measured directly, yielding a diameter one-seventh that of the Sun. Proxima Centauri's mass is about an eighth of the Sun's, and its average
densityThe mass density or density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ . In some cases , density is also defined as its weight per unit volume; although, this quantity is more properly called specific weight...
is about 40 times that of the Sun.
Although it has a very low average
luminosityLuminosity is a measurement of brightness.-In photometry and color imaging:In photometry, luminosity is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to luminance, which is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre.The luminosity function...
, Proxima is a
flare starA flare star is a variable star that can undergo unpredictable dramatic increases in brightness for a few minutes. It is believed that the flares on flare stars are analogous to solar flares in that they are due to magnetic reconnection in the atmospheres of the stars. The brightness increase is...
that undergoes random dramatic increases in brightness because of magnetic activity. The star's
magnetic fieldA magnetic field is a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials. The magnetic field at any given point is specified by both a direction and a magnitude ; as such it is a vector field.Technically, a magnetic field is a pseudo vector;...
is created by
convectionConvection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....
throughout the stellar body, and the resulting flare activity generates a total
X-rayX-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
emission similar to that produced by the Sun. The mixing of the fuel at Proxima Centauri's core through convection and the star's relatively low energy production rate suggest that it will be a
main-sequence starThe main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Hertzsprung and Henry Norris Russell...
for another four trillion years, or nearly 300 times the current
age of the universeThe age of the universe is the time elapsed since the Big Bang posited by the most widely accepted scientific model of cosmology. The best current estimate of the age of the universe is 13.75 ± 0.13 billion years within the Lambda-CDM concordance model...
.
Searches for companions orbiting Proxima Centauri have been unsuccessful, ruling out the presence of brown dwarfs and
supermassive planetsGas Giants were a pop rock band from Tempe, Arizona, formed as a successor project to the Gin Blossoms. The group was known as The Pharaohs when they formed in 1997, but changed their name after their label, A&M Records, merged with Universal Records and the band changed hands, re-signing with...
. Precision
radial velocityRadial velocity is the velocity of an object in the direction of the line of sight . In astronomy, radial velocity most commonly refers to the spectroscopic radial velocity...
surveys have also ruled out the presence of
super-EarthA super-Earth is an extrasolar planet with a mass higher than Earth's, but substantially below the mass of the Solar System's gas giants. The term super-Earth refers only to the mass of the planet, and does not imply anything about the surface conditions or habitability...
s within the star's
habitable zoneIn astronomy and astrobiology, a habitable zone is an umbrella term for regions that are considered favourable to life. The concept is inferred from the empirical study of conditions favourable for Life on Earth...
.
[This is actually an upper limit on the quantity m sin i, where i is the angle between the orbit normal and the line of sight. If the planetary orbits are close to face-on as observed from Earth, more massive planets could have evaded detection by the radial velocity method.] The detection of smaller objects will require the use of new instruments, such as the proposed
James Webb Space TelescopeThe James Webb Space Telescope , previously known as Next Generation Space Telescope , is a planned next-generation space telescope, optimized for observations in the infrared. The main technical features are a large and very cold 6.5 meter diameter mirror, an observing position far from Earth,...
. Since Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf and a flare star, whether a planet orbiting this star could
support lifeDetermining the habitability of red dwarf systems could help reveal the likelihood of extraterrestrial life, as red dwarfs make up most stars in the Milky Way Galaxy...
is disputed. Nevertheless, because of the star's proximity to Earth, it has been proposed as a destination for
interstellar travelInterstellar space travel is manned or unmanned travel between stars. The concept of interstellar travel in starships is a staple of science fiction. Interstellar travel is much more difficult than interplanetary travel. Intergalactic travel, or travel between different galaxies, is even more...
.
Observation
In 1915, Robert Innes, Director of the
Union ObservatoryUnion Observatory was an astronomical observatory located in the suburb Observatory, Johannesburg, South Africa. It bears IAU code 078.Known as the Transvaal Observatory in its early years, it became the Republic Observatory in 1961...
in
JohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, discovered a star that had the same
proper motionThe proper motion of a star is its angular change in position over time as seen from the center of mass of the solar system. It is measured in seconds of arc per year, arcsec/yr, where 3600 arcseconds equal one degree. This contrasts with radial velocity, which is the time rate of change in...
as
Alpha CentauriAlpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus...
. He suggested it be named
Proxima Centauri. In 1917, at the Royal Observatory at the
Cape of Good HopeThe Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
, the Dutch astronomer
Joan VoûteJoan George Erardus Gijsbertus Voûte was a Dutch astronomer.He was born in Madioen, Java to a Huguenot family. He studied civil engineering at Delft, but while a student he gained an interest in astronomy—studying variable stars. After graduating he joined the staff of the Leiden...
measured the star's trigonometric
parallaxParallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. The term is derived from the Greek παράλλαξις , meaning "alteration"...
and confirmed that Proxima Centauri was the same distance from the Sun as Alpha Centauri. It was also found to be the lowest-
luminosityLuminosity is a measurement of brightness.-In photometry and color imaging:In photometry, luminosity is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to luminance, which is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre.The luminosity function...
star known at the time. The first accurate parallax determination of Proxima Centauri was made by American astronomer Harold L. Alden in 1928, who confirmed the earlier results with a parallax of ″.
In 1951, American astronomer
Harlow ShapleyHarlow Shapley was an American astronomer.-Career:He was born on a farm in Nashville, Missouri, and dropped out of school with only the equivalent of a fifth-grade education...
announced that Proxima Centauri is a
flare starA flare star is a variable star that can undergo unpredictable dramatic increases in brightness for a few minutes. It is believed that the flares on flare stars are analogous to solar flares in that they are due to magnetic reconnection in the atmospheres of the stars. The brightness increase is...
. Examination of past photographic records showed that the star displayed a measurable increase in magnitude on about 8% of the images, making it the most active
flare starA flare star is a variable star that can undergo unpredictable dramatic increases in brightness for a few minutes. It is believed that the flares on flare stars are analogous to solar flares in that they are due to magnetic reconnection in the atmospheres of the stars. The brightness increase is...
then known. The proximity of the star allows for detailed observation of its flare activity. In 1980, the
Einstein ObservatoryEinstein Observatory was the first fully imaging X-ray telescope put into space and the second of NASA's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories...
produced a detailed X-ray energy curve of a stellar flare on Proxima Centauri. Further observations of flare activity were made with the
EXOSATThe European X-ray Observatory Satellite , originally named HELOS, was operational from May 1983 until April 1986 and in that time made 1780 observations in the X-ray band of most classes of astronomical object including active galactic nuclei, stellar coronae, cataclysmic variables, white dwarfs,...
and
ROSATROSAT was a German Aerospace Center-led satellite X-ray telescope, with instruments built by Germany, the UK and the US...
satelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s, and the X-ray emissions of smaller, solar-like flares were observed by the Japanese
ASCAASCA is the fourth cosmic X-ray astronomy mission by Japan's , and the second for which the United States is providing part of the scientific payload. The satellite was successfully launched on February 20, 1993. The first eight months of the ASCA mission were devoted to performance verification...
satellite in 1995. Proxima Centauri has since been the subject of study by most X-ray observatories, including
XMM-NewtonThe XMM-Newton is an orbiting X-ray observatory launched by ESA in December 1999 on a Ariane 5 rocket...
and
ChandraThe Chandra X-ray Observatory is a satellite launched on STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. It was named in honor of Indian-American physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who is known for determining the maximum mass for white dwarfs. "Chandra" also means "moon" or "luminous" in Sanskrit.Chandra...
.
Because of Proxima Centauri's southern declination, it can only be viewed south of
latitudeIn geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
27° NThe 27th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 27 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....
.
[For a star south of the zenith, the angle to the zenith is equal to the Latitude minus the Declination. The star is hidden from sight when the zenith angle is 90° or more, i.e. below the horizon. Thus, for Proxima Centauri:
]
- Highest latitude = 90° + −62.68° = 27.32°.
See: Red dwarfs such as Proxima Centauri are far too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Even from Alpha Centauri A or B, Proxima would only be seen as a fifth magnitude star. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 11, so a
telescopeA telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
with an
apertureIn optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
of at least 8 cm (3.1 in.) is needed to observe this star even under ideal viewing conditions—under clear, dark skies with Proxima Centauri well above the horizon.
Characteristics
Proxima Centauri is classified as a red dwarf star because it belongs to the
main sequenceThe main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Hertzsprung and Henry Norris Russell...
on the
Hertzsprung–Russell diagramThe Hertzsprung–Russell diagram is a scatter graph of stars showing the relationship between the stars' absolute magnitudes or luminosities versus their spectral types or classifications and effective temperatures. Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams are not pictures or maps of the locations of the stars...
and it is of
spectral class M5.5In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...
. It is further classified as a "late M-dwarf star", meaning that at M5.5 it falls to the low-mass extreme of M-type stars. This star's absolute visual magnitude, or its visual magnitude as viewed from a distance of 10 parsecs, is 15.5. Its total luminosity over all
wavelengthIn physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
s is 0.17% that of the Sun, although when observed in the wavelengths of visible light the eye is most sensitive to, it is only 0.0056% as luminous as the Sun. More than 85% of its radiated power is at
infraredInfrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
wavelengths.
In 2002,
optical interferometryOptical interferometry combines two or more light waves in an opticalinstrument in such a way that interference occurs between them.Early interferometers used white light sources and also monochromatic light from atomic sources...
with the
Very Large TelescopeThe Very Large Telescope is a telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The VLT consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2m across, which are generally used separately but can be used together to...
(VLTI) found that the
angular diameterThe angular diameter or apparent size of an object as seen from a given position is the “visual diameter” of the object measured as an angle. In the vision sciences it is called the visual angle. The visual diameter is the diameter of the perspective projection of the object on a plane through its...
of Proxima Centauri was 1.02 ± 0.08 milliarcsec. Because its distance is known, the actual diameter of Proxima Centauri can be calculated to be about 1/7 that of the Sun, or 1.5 times that of
JupiterJupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
. The star's estimated mass is only 12.3% of a
solar massThe solar mass , , is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, used to indicate the masses of other stars and galaxies...
, or 129
Jupiter massJupiter mass , is the unit of mass equal to the total mass of the planet Jupiter . Jupiter mass is used to describe masses of the gas giants, such as the outer planets and extrasolar planets. It is also used in describing brown dwarfs....
es. The mean
densityThe mass density or density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ . In some cases , density is also defined as its weight per unit volume; although, this quantity is more properly called specific weight...
of a main sequence star increases with decreasing mass, and Proxima Centauri is no exception: it has a mean density of 56,800 kg/m
3 (56.8 g/cm
3), compared with the Sun's mean density of 1,409 kg/m
3 (1.409 g/cm
3).
[The density (ρ) is given by the mass divided by the volume. Relative to the Sun, therefore, the density is:
]
 |
=  |
| |
= 0.123 · 0.145−3 · 1.41 kg/m3 |
| |
= 40.3 · 1.41 kg/m3 |
| |
= 5.68 kg/m3 |
where 
is the average solar density.
See:
Because of its low mass, the interior of the star is completely
convectiveThe convection zone of a star is the range of radii in which energy is transported primarily by convection. In the radiation zone, energy is transported by radiation...
, causing energy to be transferred to the exterior by the physical movement of plasma rather than through
radiative processesThe radiation zone is the middle zone in the Sun's interior. Energy travels out of the core into the radiation zone. Energy that travels through the radiation zone is in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation zone is so dense that the waves bounce around...
. This convection means that the helium ash left over from the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen does not accumulate at the core, but is instead circulated throughout the star. Unlike the Sun, which will only burn through about 10% of its total hydrogen supply before leaving the main sequence, Proxima Centauri will consume nearly all of its fuel before the fusion of hydrogen comes to an end.
Convection is associated with the generation and persistence of a
magnetic fieldA stellar magnetic field is a magnetic field generated by the motion of conductive plasma inside a star. This motion is created through convection, which is a form of energy transport involving the physical movement of material. A localized magnetic field exerts a force on the plasma, effectively...
. The magnetic energy from this field is released at the surface through stellar flares that briefly increase the overall luminosity of the star. These flares can grow as large as the star and reach temperatures measured as high as 27 million
KThe kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all...
—hot enough to radiate
X-rayX-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
s. Indeed, the quiescent X-ray luminosity of this star, approximately (4–16)
ergAn erg is the unit of energy and mechanical work in the centimetre-gram-second system of units, symbol "erg". Its name is derived from the Greek ergon, meaning "work"....
/s ((4–16)
WThe watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
), is roughly equal to that of the much larger Sun. The peak X-ray luminosity of the largest flares can reach 10
28 erg/s (10
21 W.)
The
chromosphereThe chromosphere is a thin layer of the Sun's atmosphere just above the photosphere, roughly 2,000 kilometers deep....
of this star is active, and its
spectrumA spectrum is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary infinitely within a continuum. The word saw its first scientific use within the field of optics to describe the rainbow of colors in visible light when separated using a prism; it has since been applied by...
displays a strong
emission lineA spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from a deficiency or excess of photons in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies.- Types of line spectra :...
of singly ionized
magnesiumMagnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
at a
wavelengthIn physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
of 280
nmA nanometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one billionth of a metre. The name combines the SI prefix nano- with the parent unit name metre .The nanometre is often used to express dimensions on the atomic scale: the diameter...
. About 88% of the surface of Proxima Centauri may be active, a percentage that is much higher than that of the Sun even at the peak of the
solar cycleThe solar cycle, or the solar magnetic activity cycle, is a periodic change in the amount of irradiation from the Sun that is experienced on Earth. It has a period of about 11 years, and is one component of solar variation, the other being aperiodic fluctuations. Solar variation causes changes in...
. Even during quiescent periods with few or no flares, this activity increases the
coronaA corona is a type of plasma "atmosphere" of the Sun or other celestial body, extending millions of kilometers into space, most easily seen during a total solar eclipse, but also observable in a coronagraph...
temperature of Proxima Centauri to 3.5 million K, compared to the 2 million K of the Sun's corona. However, the overall activity level of this star is considered low compared to other M-class dwarfs, which is consistent with the star's estimated age of 4.85 years, since the activity level of a red dwarf is expected to steadily wane over billions of years as its
stellar rotationStellar rotation is the angular motion of a star about its axis. The rate of rotation can be measured from the spectrum of the star, or by timing the movements of active features on the surface....
rate decreases. The activity level also appears to vary with a period of roughly 442 days, which is shorter than the
solar cycleThe solar cycle, or the solar magnetic activity cycle, is a periodic change in the amount of irradiation from the Sun that is experienced on Earth. It has a period of about 11 years, and is one component of solar variation, the other being aperiodic fluctuations. Solar variation causes changes in...
of 11 years.
Proxima Centauri has a relatively weak
stellar windA stellar wind is a flow of neutral or charged gas ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. It is distinguished from the bipolar outflows characteristic of young stars by being less collimated, although stellar winds are not generally spherically symmetric.Different types of stars have...
, resulting in no more than 20% of the Sun's mass loss rate from the
solar windThe solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. It mostly consists of electrons and protons with energies usually between 1.5 and 10 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed over time...
. Because the star is much smaller than the Sun, however, the mass loss per unit surface area from Proxima Centauri may be eight times that from the solar surface.
A red dwarf with the mass of Proxima Centauri will remain on the main sequence for about four trillion years. As the proportion of helium increases because of hydrogen fusion, the star will become smaller and hotter, gradually transforming from red to blue. Near the end of this period it will become significantly more luminous, reaching 2.5% of the Sun's luminosity and warming up any orbiting bodies for a period of several billion years. Once the hydrogen fuel is exhausted, Proxima Centauri will then evolve into a
white dwarfA white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. They are very dense; a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint luminosity comes from the emission of stored...
(without passing through the
red giantA red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius immense and the surface temperature low, somewhere from 5,000 K and lower...
phase) and steadily lose any remaining heat energy.
Distance and motion
Based on the
parallaxParallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. The term is derived from the Greek παράλλαξις , meaning "alteration"...
of
milliarcsecondsA minute of arc, arcminute, or minute of angle , is a unit of angular measurement equal to one sixtieth of one degree. In turn, a second of arc or arcsecond is one sixtieth of one minute of arc....
, measured using the Fine Guidance Sensors on the
Hubble Space TelescopeThe Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
, Proxima Centauri is roughly 4.2 light years from Earth, or 270,000 times more distant than the Sun. From Earth's vantage point, Proxima is separated by 2.18° from Alpha Centauri, or four times the
angular diameterThe angular diameter or apparent size of an object as seen from a given position is the “visual diameter” of the object measured as an angle. In the vision sciences it is called the visual angle. The visual diameter is the diameter of the perspective projection of the object on a plane through its...
of the full
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. Proxima also has a relatively large
proper motionThe proper motion of a star is its angular change in position over time as seen from the center of mass of the solar system. It is measured in seconds of arc per year, arcsec/yr, where 3600 arcseconds equal one degree. This contrasts with radial velocity, which is the time rate of change in...
—moving 3.85 arcseconds per year across the sky. It has a
radial velocityRadial velocity is the velocity of an object in the direction of the line of sight . In astronomy, radial velocity most commonly refers to the spectroscopic radial velocity...
toward the Sun of 21.7 km/s.
Among the known stars, Proxima Centauri has been the closest star to the Sun for about 32,000 years and will be so for about another 33,000 years, after which the closest star to the Sun will be
Ross 248. In 2001, J. García-Sánchez
et al. predicted that Proxima will make its closest approach to the Sun, coming within 3.11 light years of the latter, in approximately 26,700 years. A 2010 study by V. V. Bobylev predicted a closest approach distance of 2.90 ly in about 27,400 years. Proxima Centauri is orbiting through the
Milky WayThe Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
at a distance from the galactic core that varies from 8.3 to 9.5
kpcThe parsec is a unit of length used in astronomy. It is about 3.26 light-years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres ....
, and with an
orbital eccentricityThe orbital eccentricity of an astronomical body is the amount by which its orbit deviates from a perfect circle, where 0 is perfectly circular, and 1.0 is a parabola, and no longer a closed orbit...
of 0.07.
From the time of the discovery of Proxima, it was suspected to be a true companion of the Alpha Centauri
binary starA binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...
system. At a distance to Alpha Centauri of just 0.21 ly (15,000 ± 700
astronomical unitAn astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
s [AU]), Proxima Centauri may be in orbit around Alpha Centauri, with an
orbital periodThe orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...
of the order of 500,000 years or more. For this reason, Proxima is sometimes referred to as Alpha Centauri C. Modern estimates, taking into account the small separation between and relative velocity of the stars, suggest that the chance of the observed alignment being a coincidence is roughly one in a million. Data from the
HipparcosHipparcos was a scientific mission of the European Space Agency , launched in 1989 and operated between 1989 and 1993. It was the first space experiment devoted to precision astrometry, the accurate measurement of the positions of celestial objects on the sky...
satellite, combined with ground-based observations, is consistent with the hypothesis that the three stars are truly a bound system. If so, Proxima would currently be near
apastronAn apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
, the farthest point in its orbit from the Alpha Centauri system. More accurate measurement of the radial velocity is needed to confirm this hypothesis.
If Proxima was bound to the Alpha Centauri system during its formation, the stars would be likely to share the same elemental composition. The gravitational influence of Proxima may also have stirred up the Alpha Centauri
protoplanetary diskA protoplanetary disk is a rotating circumstellar disk of dense gas surrounding a young newly formed star, a T Tauri star, or Herbig Ae/Be star...
s. This would have increased the delivery of
volatilesIn planetary science, volatiles are that group of chemical elements and chemical compounds with low boiling points that are associated with a planet's or moon's crust and/or atmosphere. Examples include nitrogen, water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrogen, and methane, all compounds of C, H, O...
such as water to the dry inner regions. Any
terrestrial planetA terrestrial planet, telluric planet or rocky planet is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals. Within the Solar System, the terrestrial planets are the inner planets closest to the Sun...
s in the system may have been enriched by this material.
Six single stars, two binary star systems, and a triple star share a common motion through space with Proxima Centauri and the Alpha Centauri system. The space velocities of these stars are all within 10 km/s of Alpha Centauri's peculiar motion. Thus, they may form a moving group of stars, which would indicate a common point of origin, such as in a
star clusterStar clusters or star clouds are groups of stars. Two types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of hundreds of thousands of very old stars which are gravitationally bound, while open clusters, more loosely clustered groups of stars, generally contain less than...
. If it is determined that Proxima Centauri is not gravitationally bound to Alpha Centauri, then such a moving group would help explain their relatively close proximity.
Though Proxima Centauri is the nearest bona fide star, it is still possible that one or more as-yet undetected sub-stellar
brown dwarfBrown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth...
s may lie closer.
Possible companions
RV-derived Upper Mass
Limits of Companion
Orbital
periodThe orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...
(days) |
Separation The major axis of an ellipse is its longest diameter, a line that runs through the centre and both foci, its ends being at the widest points of the shape...
(AU) |
Maximum
Mass
(× EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
) |
| 3.6–13.8 |
0.022–0.054 |
2–3 |
| <100 |
<0.21 |
8.5 |
| <1000 |
<1 |
16 |
If a massive planet is orbiting Proxima Centauri, some displacement of the star would occur over the course of each orbit. If the
orbital planeAll of the planets, comets, and asteroids in the solar system are in orbit around the Sun. All of those orbits line up with each other making a semi-flat disk called the orbital plane. The orbital plane of an object orbiting another is the geometrical plane in which the orbit is embedded...
of the planet is not perpendicular to the line of sight from the Earth then this displacement would cause periodic changes in the radial velocity of Proxima Centauri. The fact that multiple measurements of the star's radial velocity have detected no such shifts has lowered the maximum mass that a possible companion to Proxima Centauri could possess. The activity level of the star adds noise to the radial velocity measurements, limiting future prospects for detection of a companion using this method.
In 1998, an examination of Proxima Centauri using the
Faint Object SpectrographThe Faint Object Spectrograph was a spectrograph installed on the Hubble Space Telescope. It was replaced by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph in 1997, and is now on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. -FOS facts:...
on board the Hubble Space Telescope appeared to show evidence of a companion orbiting at a distance of about 0.5 AU. However a subsequent search using the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 failed to locate any companions. Proxima Centauri, along with Alpha Centauri A and B, was among the "Tier 1" target stars for
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's now-canceled
Space Interferometry MissionThe Space Interferometry Mission, or SIM, also known as SIM Lite , was a planned space telescope developed by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration , in conjunction with contractor Northrop Grumman...
(SIM), which would theoretically have been able to detect planets as small as three Earth-masses within two AU of a "Tier 1" target star.
Habitable zone
The TV documentary
Alien Worlds hypothesized that a life-sustaining planet could exist in orbit around Proxima Centauri or other red dwarf stars. Such a planet would lie within the
habitable zoneIn astronomy and astrobiology, a habitable zone is an umbrella term for regions that are considered favourable to life. The concept is inferred from the empirical study of conditions favourable for Life on Earth...
of Proxima Centauri, about 0.023–0.054 AU from the star, and would have an orbital period of 3.6–14 days. A planet orbiting within this zone will experience
tidal lockingTidal locking occurs when the gravitational gradient makes one side of an astronomical body always face another; for example, the same side of the Earth's Moon always faces the Earth. A tidally locked body takes just as long to rotate around its own axis as it does to revolve around its partner...
to the star, so that Proxima Centauri moves little in the planet's sky, and most of the surface experiences either day or night perpetually. However, the presence of an atmosphere could serve to redistribute the energy from the star-lit side to the far side of the planet.
Proxima Centauri's
flareA solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release of up to 6 × 1025 joules of energy . The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a day...
outbursts could erode the atmosphere of any planet in its
habitable zoneIn astronomy and astrobiology, a habitable zone is an umbrella term for regions that are considered favourable to life. The concept is inferred from the empirical study of conditions favourable for Life on Earth...
, but the documentary's scientists thought that this obstacle could be overcome (see continued theories). Gibor Basri of the
University of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, Berkeley, even mentioned that "no one [has] found any showstoppers to habitability." For example, one concern was that the torrents of charged particles from the star's flares could strip the atmosphere off any nearby planet. However, if the planet had a strong magnetic field, the field would deflect the particles from the atmosphere; even the slow rotation of a tidally locked dwarf planet that spins once for every time it orbits its star would be enough to generate a magnetic field, as long as part of the planet's interior remained molten.
Other scientists, especially proponents of the
Rare Earth hypothesisIn planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the emergence of complex multicellular life on Earth required an improbable combination of astrophysical and geological events and circumstances...
, disagree that red dwarf stars can sustain life. The tide-locked rotation may result in a relatively weak planetary
magnetic momentThe magnetic moment of a magnet is a quantity that determines the force that the magnet can exert on electric currents and the torque that a magnetic field will exert on it...
, leading to strong atmospheric erosion by coronal mass ejections from Proxima Centauri.
Interstellar travel
Proxima Centauri has been suggested as a possible first destination for
interstellar travelInterstellar space travel is manned or unmanned travel between stars. The concept of interstellar travel in starships is a staple of science fiction. Interstellar travel is much more difficult than interplanetary travel. Intergalactic travel, or travel between different galaxies, is even more...
. Although the
Voyager programThe Voyager program is a U.S program that launched two unmanned space missions, scientific probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable planetary alignment of the late 1970s...
spacecraft are anticipated to become the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space, they move relatively slowly, at about 17 km/s, requiring well over 10,000 years to travel each light-year. In comparison, Proxima is presently approaching at a rate of 21.7 km/s. However, it will only come as close as 3.11 light-years, and then move farther away after 26,700 years. Thus, a slow-moving probe would have only several tens of thousands of years to catch Proxima Centauri near its closest approach, and could end up watching it recede into the distance.
If current, non-nuclear propulsion were used, a voyage of a spacecraft to a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri would probably require thousands of years.
Nuclear pulse propulsionNuclear pulse propulsion is a proposed method of spacecraft propulsion that uses nuclear explosions for thrust. It was first developed as Project Orion by DARPA, after a suggestion by Stanislaw Ulam in 1947...
encompasses several technologies which might enable such interstellar travel with a trip timescale of a century, beginning within the next century, inspiring several studies such as
Project OrionProject Orion was a study of a spacecraft intended to be directly propelled by a series of explosions of atomic bombs behind the craft...
,
Project DaedalusProject Daedalus was a study conducted between 1973 and 1978 by the British Interplanetary Society to design a plausible unmanned interstellar spacecraft. Intended mainly as a scientific probe, the design criteria specified that the spacecraft had to use current or near-future technology and had to...
, and
Project LongshotProject Longshot was a conceptual design for an interstellar spacecraft, an unmanned probe intended to fly to Alpha Centauri powered by nuclear pulse propulsion. Developed by the US Naval Academy and NASA from 1987 to 1988, Longshot was designed to be built at Space Station Freedom, the precursor...
.
From Proxima Centauri, the Sun would appear as a bright, 0.4 magnitude star in the constellation
CassiopeiaCassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Cassiopea was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today...
.
See also
External links
- Wikisky image of Proxima Centauri