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Rare variable star 38 EP

Proxima Centauri

RA 217.4398° · Dec -62.6795° · star

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Score breakdown

· 3 badges
38 pts · Rare
Rare 46 pts → Epic
  • Stellar next door (<10 ly) +25
  • Has a proper name +8
  • Variable star +5
Total score 38

8 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Stellar next door (<10 ly) · +25
  • Has a proper name · +8

Trivia

What makes it special

  • Next-door neighbour. One of the closest objects of its kind to the Sun.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. A multi-generation starship could one day attempt the crossing.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 74.3 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 6600 years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.
  • At 10% light speed. ≈ 42.3 years in a starship at a tenth of light speed.
  • Distance. 4.2 light-years from Earth.

Look-back time

  • Look-back time. The light you'd see left around the year 2022.

Saying hello

  • Say hello. A radio message and its reply would take 8.5 years round-trip.

How we found it

  • Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.

Properties

absmag
15.447
bv
1.807
constellation
Cen
dist ly
4.2267
mag
11.01
name
Proxima Centauri
named
yes
spect
M5Ve
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Sky imagery and survey data courtesy of Aladin Lite & CDS, Strasbourg. Object data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive, JPL Small-Body Database, and the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue.