How far away is our nearest star?
Proxima Centauri
Alpha Centauri C [red dwarf], discovered 1915
4.244 lightyears away.[4 ½ years traveling at the speed of light]
[1.301] parsec
1 of 3 in the Alpha Centauri 12,950AU (1.94 trillion km)
and an orbital period of 550,000 years.
At present Proxima is 2.18° to the southwest of Alpha Centauri.
1/7th the actual diamter of the sun.
1/8th the mass of the sun
Avg density 33x more than the sun.
‘Flare star’ ((“random”)) dramatic increases in brightness because of magnetic activity.
The “mixing of the fuel” at Proxima Centauri’s core through “convection and its relatively low energy-production rate” mean that it will be a main sequence star for another 4 trillion years, or nearly 300x the current age of the Universe.