Proxima Centauri.

Here's a classic catch-up question. Ask your friends, " Which one is closest to us?" and then watch them list nearest stars. Maybe Sirius? Alpha is there something there? Betelgeuse? The answer is obvious - this is; a massive ball of plasma located approximately 150 million kilometers from Earth. Let's clarify the question. Which star is closest to the Sun?

Nearest star

You've probably heard that the third brightest star in the sky is only 4.37 light years away. But Alpha Centauri not a single star, but a system of three stars. First, a double star (binary star) with a common center of gravity and an orbital period of 80 years. Alpha Centauri A is only slightly more massive and brighter than the sun, and Alpha Centauri B is slightly less massive than the Sun. There is also a third component in this system, a dim red dwarf. Proxima Centauri.

Proxima Centauri- That's what it is the closest star to our Sun, located only 4.24 light years away.

Proxima Centauri.

Multiple star system Alpha Centauri located in the constellation Centaurus, which is visible only in the southern hemisphere. Unfortunately, even if you see this system, you will not be able to see Proxima Centauri. This star is so dim that you'll need a fairly powerful telescope to see it.

Let's find out the scale of how far Proxima Centauri from U.S. Think about . moves at a speed of almost 60,000 km/h, the fastest in. He covered this path in 2015 in 9 years. Traveling at such speed to get to Proxima Centauri, New Horizons will require 78,000 light years.

Proxima Centauri is the closest star over 32,000 light years, and it will hold this record for another 33,000 years. It will make its closest approach to the Sun in about 26,700 years, when the distance from this star to Earth will be only 3.11 light years. In 33,000 years, the nearest star will be Ross 248.

What about the northern hemisphere?

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the closest visible star is Barnard's Star, another red dwarf in the constellation Ophiuchus. Unfortunately, like Proxima Centauri, Barnard's Star is too dim to be seen with the naked eye.

Barnard's Star.

Nearest star, which you can see with the naked eye in the northern hemisphere is Sirius (Alpha Canis Major) . Sirius is twice the size and mass of the Sun, and is the brightest star in the sky. Located 8.6 light years away in the constellation Canis Major, it is the most famous star, chasing Orion in the winter night sky.

How did astronomers measure the distance to stars?

They use a method called . Let's do a little experiment. Keep one arm extended and place your finger so that some distant object is nearby. Now open and close each eye one by one. Notice how your finger seems to jump back and forth as you look with different eyes. This is the parallax method.

Parallax.

To measure the distance to stars, you can measure the angle to the star with respect to when the Earth is on one side of the orbit, say in the summer, then 6 months later when the Earth moves to the opposite side of the orbit, and then measure the angle to the star compared to which some distant object. If the star is close to us, this angle can be measured and the distance calculated.

You can actually measure the distance this way to nearest stars, but this method only works up to 100,000 light years.

20 nearest stars

Here is a list of the 20 closest star systems and their distance in light years. Some of them have multiple stars, but they are part of the same system.

According to NASA, there are 45 stars within a radius of 17 light years from the Sun. There are more than 200 billion stars. Some are so faint that they are almost undetectable. Perhaps, with new technologies, scientists will find stars even closer to us.

Title of the article you read "Nearest star to the Sun".

rice. The nearest bright star is Alpha Centauri

Most similar in spectrum and luminosity to the Sun is our closest neighbor - Alpha Centauri, the brightest component. It is only 1.33 ps away from us. Apparently, the most distant star from the nearest environment solar system- This is Deneb, located at a distance of approximately 450 ps. Distances to Rigel, Betelgeuse and β Southern Cross are also difficult to measure. If we consider the volume of space that needs to be explored before we reach a star like Deneb, we see that it is about (450/1.33), or 40,000,000 times the volume that we would have to explore to discover the star α Centauri.

rice. Rigel (β Orionis)

The closest neighbors of the Sun are stars, the distance to which does not exceed 5 pc. The four brightest stars on this list are Sirius, Altair, Procyon and α Centauri. These stars shine brightly in the sky because they are close to us, not because they are exceptionally luminous. These are mostly dwarf stars, or, as we prefer to call them, “main sequence” stars. Many M dwarfs are flare stars. Although their luminosity is usually very low, they can sometimes become brighter by 2 or more for short periods of time; outbreaks of some of them were repeated many times. At least five stars closest to the sun are flaring. Bright lines are observed in their spectra; this feature is indicated by the letter "e" placed after the spectral class.

rice. Comparative sizes nearest bright stars

The list of nearest neighbors includes six blue-white stars of very low luminosity, representatives of the class of white dwarfs. These stars make up most interesting group our neighbors; the most famous of them is the satellite of Sirius. Two more are also satellites of bright stars, and the remaining two are . When the satellite of Sirius was discovered, it heat combined with low luminosity, indicated that this was an unusual, and perhaps very rare object. Previously, no one had imagined that there could be stars with masses only slightly less than the mass of the Sun, and with radii barely exceeding the radius of the Earth. In a recently published list of stars located within a radius of no more than 20 pc from the Sun, German astronomer Wilhelm Gliese lists 49 white dwarfs. Research by Leuthen and others has shown that white dwarfs are as common as stars like the Sun. In total, Leuthen has identified about 3,000 “well-established, probable and possible” white dwarfs, which he calls “the easiest stars to identify and the hardest to observe.” The criterion for their identification is large proper motions and a color index comparable to the color index of a class B or A star whose light has not been absorbed.

The apparent magnitude of most known white dwarfs is 14 m. For more than half of the discovered white dwarfs, it was possible to determine spectra and parallaxes, since stars can be plotted on a spectrum - absolute magnitude diagram. They form a branch not entirely parallel to the main sequence, and their absolute values ​​M range from +10 to +15, i.e., their luminosities range from 0.01 to 0.0001 the luminosity of the Sun. Their sizes range from the diameter of Mercury to the diameter of Uranus, i.e. between 1/3 and 4 the diameters of the Earth. Leithen estimates that 5% of all stars appear to be white dwarfs.

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The closest star to Earth

Since ancient times, man has turned his gaze to the sky, where he saw thousands of stars. They fascinated him and made him think. Over the centuries, knowledge about them accumulated and systematized. And when it became clear that the stars are not just luminous points, but real cosmic objects of enormous size, a person had a dream - to fly to them. But first we had to determine how far away they were.

Using telescopes and mathematical formulas, scientists were able to calculate the distances to our (excluding solar system objects) cosmic neighbors. So, which star is closest to Earth? It turned out to be little Proxima Centauri. It is part of a triple system located at a distance of approximately just over four light years from the Solar System (it is worth noting that astronomers more often use another unit of measurement - the parsec). She was named proxima, which means “nearest” in Latin. For the Universe, this distance seems insignificant, but with the current level of space shipbuilding, it will take more than one generation of people to reach it.

Proxima Centauri

In the sky this star can only be seen through a telescope. It shines about one hundred and fifty times weaker than the Sun. It is also significantly smaller in size than the latter, and its surface temperature is two times lower. Astronomers consider this star a brown dwarf, and the existence of planets around it is unlikely. And therefore there is no point in flying there. Although the triple system of Alpha Centauri in itself deserves attention, such objects are not very common in the Universe. The stars in them revolve around each other in bizarre orbits, and sometimes they “devour” their neighbor.

The closest stars to Earth

There are fifty-one star systems relatively close to the Sun. But we will list only eight. So, meet:

1. Proxima Centauri, already mentioned above. Distance - four light years, class M5.5 (red or brown dwarf).
2. The stars Alpha Centauri A and B. They are 4.3 light years away from us. Objects of class D2 and K1 respectively. Alpha Centauri is also the closest star to Earth, similar in temperature to our Sun.
3. Barnard's Star - it is also called “Flying” because it moves at a high speed (compared to other space objects). Located at a distance of 6 light years from the Sun. Object class M3.8. In the sky it can be found in the constellation Ophiuchus.
4. Wolf 359 is located 7.7 light years away. 16th magnitude object in the constellation Draco. Class M5.8.
5. Lalande 1185 is 8.2 light years away from our system. Located in the constellation Ursa Major. Object class M2.1. Magnitude – 10.
6. Tau Ceti is located 8.4 light years away. M5,6 class star.
7. The Sirius A and B system is eight and a half light years away. Stars class A1 and DA.
8. Ross 154 in the constellation Sagittarius. Located at a distance of 9.4 light years from the Sun. M class star 3.6.

Only space objects located within a radius of ten light years from us are mentioned here.

White spots in space

Space is a huge space consisting of many galaxies, stars, dust and other celestial objects. For a long time, people have been interested not only in what is happening on the planet, but also beyond its borders. Thus, outer space is a subject of constant study and a place of discovery for scientists around the world.

In astronomical knowledge on this moment a lot of white spots. For example, it is not known for certain what it is - the largest star in the Universe. Information was constantly changing, but relatively recently it was found out (and is still believed to this day) that it is located in the constellation Canis Major. She was given the name VY. Its diameter is 2,900,000 km! However, these facts may turn out to be false tomorrow - if another huge star is discovered.

Proxima Centauri

We can talk with much more confidence about which star is the closest to the Sun. It was named Proxima Centauri. Its mass is 1/7 of the mass of the Sun, which is approximately 1.9*1030 kg.

Until 1915, Alpha Centauri was considered the closest to us. However, on the threshold of the second quarter of the 20th century, the English astronomer Robert Innes discovered Proxima Centauri.

Based on the distance between our planet and the Sun (about 150 million km), and taking into account that from the Sun to the star Proxima Centauri it is approximately 270 thousand times greater, it is not difficult to determine how huge the path from us to the star located closest is. to the solar system.

Flare star

Proxima Centauri is a flare star. This means that from time to time its brightness is stronger than usual. This fact was established by Harlow Shelley, an astronomer from America, in 1951. But to be more precise, the closest star to the Sun is a variable flare, like almost all red dwarfs (that is, relatively cool stars of small size).

According to research, this star orbits Alpha Centauri with a periodicity of half a million years. At the same time, no orbiting planets were discovered around it. In addition, it is curious that Proxima Centauri emits very little energy.

How glasses irritated me as a child! I raised my head to look at the stars - they will definitely fall off my nose, and then look for them in the grass, and wipe them off from dew and dirt. Therefore, in order to admire the starry sky, I always took them off. But here another problem arose - without glasses it was possible to see only the brightest stars. Eh, who would have told me then, which star is actually closest to Earth,– you definitely wouldn’t need glasses to look at her!

Which star is closest to Earth

The closest star to us is our Sun.

Yes Yes, it Same is a star and not the most big in space. But to us it seems so huge relative to other stars precisely because of its relatively small distance.

It is still not so far from us by cosmic standards Alpha Centauri system. From her There are three stars closest to us:

• Alpha Centauri A.
• Alpha Centauri B.
• And in third place - no, not Alpha Centauri C, as you might think, but Proxima Centauri:)

Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, on this list takes only seventh place. And the North Star is not even included in the first fifty.

Why you can’t look at the Sun for a long time

Alas, although you can see the Sun even with poor eyesight, you shouldn’t stare at it for a long time. The reason lies in the structure of the human eye - If you look at a light source that is too bright for more than 3 seconds, you can damage your retina– and either spoil vision, or completely lose it.

Even during solar eclipses, when the brightness of our celestial body decreases greatly, it is necessary take precautions:

But if, even using some kind of protection, you feel Pain in the eyes or just a desire look away- it’s better to play it safe and look away from the sun. If some spots blink in your eyes when you close your eyelids, this is a sure sign that your eyes need to rest.

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Looking at the starry sky at night is the coolest thing! This cannot be compared with anything. Once I was at sea for three long months. I miss my family very much. Peering into the skies, I imagined that on another piece of the continent someone close to me was looking into the sky. I mentally conveyed greetings to them with the stars. I was very sad at such moments. And during the day I wanted to convey the same greetings with a ray of sunshine.

Which star is closest to our planet

Guys, thank you very much to everyone who answered the question. I was actually going to Google this topic! Now, I think I’ll read about the stars and show off my genius. And here, like this. Sun. What immediately comes to mind is: “Come on! That's all? So simple?".

And then I remember my dad’s stories about how stars differ from planets in that they glow, and the planets are only capable of reflecting the light of stars. And suddenly you realize that the Sun is the most... big celestial body which we can see.

What the Sun Gives

If you think about it globally, you want to cry. After all Sun, Earth, air, water - this is our life. Whether you love nature or not, we are nature. We are part of this world. And we could not live if the planet did not attract us to itself, if it was constantly dark and cold, if there was nothing to breathe.

I remember interesting experiments from school biology. We created air. Not themselves, of course. We were just watering the flowers on the windowsill. As you know, everything hgreen plants produce oxygen. For them it is a by-product, but for us it is an integral component of life. Remember how the reaction with chlorophyll occurs? Exactly. With the assistance of the light of the Sun.

Divine gift

The sun helps plants to germinate from seeds, animals - gives warmth and lightT. It is not for nothing that the Sun is equated to a deity. In all religions peace There is solar deity, or Sun God:

• Ra- V Ancient Egypt;
• Yarilo- V Slavic mythology;
• Helios- among the Greeks;
• Surya– in Ancient Indonesia;
• Amaterasu- among the Japanese;
• Inti– in South Mesoamerica, etc.

Religions of the One God are also associated with the Sun. After all, liturgical holidays coincide with the days of the solstice and the ancient calendar and ritual holidays of the worship of the Sun.

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Who among you doesn't like to look at the starry sky? These shining points seem to whisper to us: “The Universe is infinite. You are not alone in this world.” Every summer, while visiting my grandmother in the village, I tried to count the number of stars, but my attempts were in vain. Now I understand that I cannot find the answer to this riddle by trusting only my visual apparatus and the absence of clouds in the sky.

How many stars are there in our galaxy

Planet Earth belongs to a galaxy called Milky Way. There are many stars in it, and only a small part of them is visible to our eyes through a telescope. Let me tell you why counting the number of stars poses the following problem:

• the distance from the Earth to the stars refracts the color spectrum of the latter (this occurs redshift), causing them to disappear from visibility.
• Air pollution and any changes in light (sunset) affect the view.
• Size and weight stars are directly dependent on its ability to be found from the distance of our planet.

Which star is closest to our planet?

The answer lies, so to speak, on the surface. The most close to Earth - star by name Sun.

Yes, this is exactly the object that we do not see in the night sky. Second and third place are shared Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B. They can only be seen while in the Southern Hemisphere. What will we see in the Northern Hemisphere? Only visible from here Bernard's star, which is located 5.9 light years from planet Earth. I'm sure you will be interested to know these data about such a familiar object as the Sun:

• it is located just 150 ml km from the earth.
• Weight The sun is 99.8 % from the entire mass of its system.
• On 74% comprises hydrogen.
• This star is so big it can fit inside 1.3 million planets the size of ours.

Now temperature on the surface of the Sun is approximately 5,778 K. But, unfortunately, this figure increases every year, which leads to changes in our ecosystem. Existence on the planet depends on the Sun, so the significance of this very nearby star cannot be underestimated.

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You probably know that we all live in a place called solar system. It's such small area in the galaxy Milky Way, where the most important celestial body is the Sun star. More for school desks we were told about the structure of space and I know for sure that our planet is just a grain in the vast and endless Universe. Everything is alive what exists on The Earth is the result of multi-million-year evolutionary processes, but none of this would have happened if it weren’t for the star closest to us, which everyone knows as the Sun.

Which star is closest to our planet?

It is known for certain that even in the observable Universe there are thousands of stars of different sizes and spectral classes, not to mention outer space in general, where there are trillions of them. It so happened that the closest star relative to our planet is G2V (yellow dwarf) with Latin name Solar, Russian speaking people call her Sun. The composition of the star includes mostly hydrogen and helium, which causes chemical synthesis called a thermonuclear reaction. However, it also contains other substances, for example:

1. Iron.
2. Silicon.
3. Nitrogen.
4. Calcium.
5. Chrome, etc.

Data concentration chemical elements very, very insignificant. Based scientific research, The sun is already burning 5 billion years, it lived exactly half of its cycle, because the star’s resources are not endless, which means that in just a few billion years it will begin to evolve, dooming life on Earth to a tragic ending.

Evolution of the Sun

Because of hydrogen is becoming less and less, and the quantity helium, respectively, increases, the star will begin to shine 10% brighter in 1 billion years, which will complicate the development of carbon-based life forms on Earth due to a serious greenhouse effect. Further, everything will only get worse in the same direction; in 3 billion years the star will become 40% brighter, which excludes the possibility of finding water in liquid aggregate condition on our planet. In the end, Earth will become what it is today Venus, and the Sun will grow in size, turning into Red giant, and then only one core will remain, which will cool for a very long time.

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At school I really liked astronomy lessons. After all, everything connected with space, with galaxies, with stars is shrouded in many secrets, and this is always interesting! In the evenings, when darkness falls, I still love to look at the starry sky, peer into tiny stars and admire the twinkling of larger stars. Have you ever thought about Which star is closest to Earth? I learned the answer to this question back in school, and it surprised me a little!

The closest star to Earth

This star is the Sun! When I found out, due to my age, I was slightly perplexed. After all, everyone knows that stars appear in the sky at night, and the Sun shines during the day! So what kind of star is this?! In fact, the Sun really is a star, and also the closest to our planet.

Characteristics of the Sun:

• Sun differs from other stars in its composition. It consists of hot plasma. That's why its temperature is so high that no creature can be near it!
• It accounts for 99.8% of the total mass of the Solar System.
• The sun is so big that it could hold 1,300 planets comparable in size to Earth.
• The sun works like a magnet. It attracts all objects to itself Solar system, as well as asteroids and space debris.

The emergence of the Sun

It originated about 5 billion years ago from a vast molecular cloud. In this cloud, vortices were formed, reminiscent of tornadoes. In the central part, hydrogen began to gradually become denser. As a result, the Sun appeared.

It is believed that stars like the Sun last 10 billion years. It means that our luminary has already lived half of its life.

The sun emits light and heat due to thermonuclear reactions in its core. Hydrogen atoms are converted into atoms of heavier elements. Until, While these reactions are taking place the Sun will be for us source of life. But as soon as all hydrogen is converted, the sun will cool down and will begin to increase greatly in size. After some time, it will shed its excess shells, and in place of the bright star there will be an extinct dwarf star. This is normal life cycle all stars

Which star is closest to Earth

Is our Sun It has double - the star Alpha Centauri. She is also called Toliman. Actually, this star system, which consists of:

• Alpha Centauri A;
• Alpha Centauri B;
• Proxima Centauri (red dwarf).

Exactly Proxima is nearest to us. And just recently in 2012 scientists found near a dwarf planet, Very similar to Earth. TI have water. The surface temperature is -40°C. And it receives 65% of the energy that the Earth receives. Therefore there is enough high chance, What on this there is life on the planet. Perhaps humanity will finally find brothers in mind. Moreover, to the planet not so far. Only 4.24 light years.

But let's return to our sheep, that is, to the stars. Alpha Centauri older our Sun for 2 billion years. Alpha A and Alpha B are almost impossible to distinguish. In order to get there you need to reach these two sisters travel almost 1 million years. We are waiting for the invention of fast ships.

On the verge of fantasy

Although I am an ardent skeptic, it would be a crime not to talk about the mystery of Alpha Centauri. As shown computer modelling, in water on the planet Proxima Centauri b live Cancerscorpios, once upon a time inhabited our Earth. Many scientists today share the opinion that people are aliens and come from Alpha Centauri. Unlike our smaller brothers, We are completely unsuited to life on Earth.

1. People are not protected from sunlight.
2. GravityEarth big for a person That's why we systematically suffer from leg pain.
3. In human DNA present unknown genes.
4. The biological clock people are designed for 25 hours.

As some eccentric scientists say, little green men were brought to Earth and crossed with apes. This is how modern man appeared. I don’t know if there is any truth in this, but no matter where people came from, Earth is our home. And the star Alpha Centauri will still wait for us.

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