Nearby star
Proxima Centauri
Also Alpha Centauri C · GJ 551
The nearest known star to the Sun, a small red dwarf with at least one planet of about Earth's mass or more.
Measured
- Distance
- 4.25 light-years
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Position (J2000)
- RA 14h 29m 43s, Dec −62.68°
How far, from the Sun
4.25 light-years. To cross it:
- Light4.25 years
- Voyager 1's speed75,400 years
- Driving at 100 km/h45.8 million years
Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.
Facts
- It has about 12% of the Sun's mass and orbits Alpha Centauri A and B every 550,000 years or so.
- Proxima b has at least 1.055 times Earth's mass, per the NASA Exoplanet Archive as of October 2026.
How it was found
- Its planet Proxima b, found in 2016, orbits every 11.2 days in the star's habitable zone.
Where this comes from
- Gaia DR3 parallax 768.0665 ± 0.0499 mas, Gaia DR3 5853498713190525696 (Gaia Collaboration 2023, A&A 674, A1)
Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.