Scientists Say: Proxima Centauri

This is our nearest stellar neighbor

Proxima centauri

This is Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our sun. Its red glow marks it as a red dwarf.

ESA/Hubble & NASA

Proxima Centauri (noun, “PROX-ih-mah sen-TOR-aye”)

This is a star located about 4.2 light-years away from our sun. Its name is composed of Latin words. They mean “nearest star of Centaurus.” (Proxima Centauri is part of the Centaurus constellation.) It’s the nearest-known star to the sun. But it’s a different type of star. Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf — a small, red glowing star that is about 2,800 degrees Celsius (5,000 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than our sun.

 

In a sentence

Scientists recently found that a planet may be orbiting Proxima Centauri — making it the closest planet outside our solar system.

Follow Eureka! Lab on Twitter

Bethany Brookshire was a longtime staff writer at Science News Explores and is the author of the book Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. She has a Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology and likes to write about neuroscience, biology, climate and more. She thinks Porgs are an invasive species.

Use up and down arrow keys to explore.Use right arrow key to move into the list.Use left arrow key to move back to the parent list.Use tab key to enter the current list item.Use escape to exit the menu.Use the Shift key with the Tab key to tab back to the search input.