Alpha Centauri is not one star but three: a Sun-like pair orbiting each other at roughly Saturn-to-Neptune distances, and a faint red dwarf called Proxima wandering a fifth of a light-year further out. Proxima is currently the closest star to the Sun, and it carries the closest exoplanets we know of.
Fly there in 3DProxima b is the nearest planet outside the Solar System - a target of 4.24 light-years. Even at the 0.06% of light speed Voyager 1 manages, the crossing would take about 73,000 years.
A candidate gas giant near Alpha Centauri A was reported from JWST/MIRI imaging in 2025 and then not recovered in two follow-up attempts. Its orbit is not determined, so nothing is drawn for it here.
Alpha Centauri A and B are separated by 11.2 AU at closest and 35.6 AU at furthest over their 79.91-year orbit.
| Spectral type | M5.5 Ve |
| Surface temperature | 2,900 K |
| Mass | 0.1221 solar masses |
| Radius | 0.1542 solar radii |
| Luminosity | 0.00151 times the Sun |
| Apparent magnitude | 11.13 |
| Distance from the Sun | 4.4 light-years (1.3 parsecs) |
| Position (J2000) | RA 219.9021°, Dec -60.8340° |
| Constellation | Centaurus |
The closest thing to a solar twin in the sky - slightly larger, slightly brighter, and about the same colour as the Sun.
An orange dwarf that swings between 11 and 36 AU from its partner every eighty years - Saturn-distance at closest, Neptune-distance at furthest.
| Planet | Year | Orbit | Radius | Mass | Found |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proxima Centauri d | 5.12 days | 0.0288 AU | 0.692 R⊕ estimated | 0.26 M⊕ minimum | Radial Velocity, 2025 |
| Proxima Centauri b | 11.2 days | 0.0485 AU | 1.02 R⊕ estimated | 1.055 M⊕ minimum | Radial Velocity, 2016 |
| Proxima Centauri c candidate | 5.3 years | 1.489 AU | — | 7 M⊕ minimum | Radial Velocity, 2020 |
Values are the NASA Exoplanet Archive’s composite parameters. A radius marked estimated comes from a mass–radius relation; a mass marked minimum is M sin i. Planet sizes and colours in the 3D view are renderings: none of these worlds has been photographed as more than a point of light.