The closest star to Earth is Proxima Centauri

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

Closest Star to Earth

Using telescopes and mathematical formulas, scientists were able to calculate the distances to our (excluding objects of the solar system) cosmic neighbors. So which star is closest to Earth? She turned out to be little Proxima Centauri. It is part of the triple system, located at a distance of about a little over four light years from the solar system (it is worth noting that astronomers often use another unit of measurement - the parsec). She was called proxima, which in Latin means "closest." For the Universe, this distance seems insignificant, but at the modern 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 the telescope. It shines weaker than the Sun about a hundred and fifty times. In size, it is also significantly inferior to the latter, and the temperature of its surface is half as much. Astronomers consider this star a brown dwarf, and the existence of planets around it is hardly possible. Therefore, it does not make sense to fly there. Although the Alpha Centauri triple system in itself deserves attention, such objects are not very common in the Universe. The stars in them circulate one around the other in bizarre orbits, and it happens that they "devour" a neighbor.

Deep space

Let’s say a few words about the most distant object discovered at the moment in the Universe. Of those visible without the use of special optical devices, this is, without a doubt, the Andromeda Nebula. Its brightness approximately corresponds to a quarter value. And the closest star to the Earth of this galaxy is located from us, according to astronomers, at a distance of two million light-years. Amazing value! After all, we see her as she was two million years ago - that's how simple it is to look into the past! But back to our "neighbors." The galaxy closest to us is a dwarf galaxy, which can be observed in the constellation Sagittarius. It is so close to us that the Milky Way practically absorbs it! True, flying to it will still have eighty thousand light years. These are the distances in space! About the Magellanic Cloud and not worth talking about. This satellite of the Milky Way lags behind us by almost 170 million light-years.

Closest stars to Earth

Relatively close to the Sun is the fifty-one star system. But we list only eight. So get to know:

1. Proxima Centauri already mentioned above. Distance - four light years, class M5.5 (red or brown dwarf).
2. 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, in temperature similar to our Sun.
3. The star of Barnard - it is also called "Flying", because it moves at a high (compared to other space objects) speed. Located at 6 light years from the sun. Object of class M3.8. In heaven, it can be found in the constellation Ophiuchus.
4. Wolf 359 - is located at a distance of 7.7 light years from us. An object of 16th magnitude in the constellation Dragon. Class M5.8.
5. Laland 1185 - 8.2 light years distant from our system. Located in the constellation Ursa Major. Object of class M2,1. The magnitude is 10.
6. Tau Kita - located at a distance of 8.4 light years from us. Class M5.6 star.
7. The system of Sirius A and B is removed for eight and a half light years. Stars are class A1 and DA.
8. Ross 154 in the constellation Sagittarius. Located at a distance of 9.4 light years from the sun. Class M star 3.6.

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

The sun

However, looking at the sky, we forget that the star closest to the Earth is still the Sun. This is the center of our system. Without it, life on Earth would not have been possible, and our planet would have formed together with this star. Therefore, it deserves special attention. A bit about her. Like all stars, the sun mainly consists of hydrogen and helium. And the first is constantly turning into the last. Heavier elements are also formed as a result of thermonuclear reactions . And the older the star, the more they accumulate.

By age, the closest star to Earth is already young, it is about five billion years old. The mass of the Sun is ~ 2.10 ³³ g, diameter - 1 392 000 kilometers. The temperature on the surface reaches 6000 K. In the middle of the star, it rises. The atmosphere of the sun consists of three parts: the corona, chromosphere and photosphere.

Solar activity significantly affects the life of the Earth. It is alleged that the climate, weather and the state of the biosphere depend on it. The eleven-year periodicity of solar activity is known.