The star, next to the Sun, is the Proxima of the Centaur, the distance to it makes only 4.2 light years. However in our sky it shines weaker than stars which are in visibility limits with the naked eye.
Instruction
1. Centravr's Proxima — one of members of a threefold star system of Alf Zentawr, this star is carried to red dwarfs. Its diameter is nearly 10 times less solar, and weight concedes to the mass of the Sun by 8 times. The Proxima cannot be seen with the naked eye, however sometimes its gloss sharply amplifies.
2. The Proxima of the Centaur belongs to the class of the flashing stars, rough processes of convection in her body lead to accidental heavy flashes. They have the same nature, as flashes of the Sun, but their power is much higher. Intensive convective processes in the depths of this star demonstrate that its nuclear reactions did not stabilize yet. When on Proxima there is a flash, its luminosity increases several times.
3. The Proxima was found in 1915 by the Scottish astronomer Robert Innes. Despite the proximity to Earth, this star it is very difficult to see as it, like other red dwarfs, radiates not enough energy. Physical conditions in the depths of a star are close to those that proceed in giant planets.
4. In 1975 on Proxima there was the next flash which was extraordinary bright and intensive. At the same time in the x-ray range many times more energy, than in visible area of a range was emitted. Possibly, a source of x-ray radiation of a star is plasma with a temperature about 4 million °C. When there was a flash, this temperature increased by 6 times.
5. Other star of a system of Alf Centrawr And, it still call Riegel (leg) Zentawr, the brightest in the constellation and the fourth in the night sky, was known still in the ancient time. It is very similar to the Sun, but is further Proxima. Alf Zentawr's stars And yes In form a double system. The Proxima will be spaced from this couple of bright stars at the distance exceeding by 400 times distance from the Sun to the Neptune. All these stars rotate around the general center of masses, at the same time the cycle time of Proxima of Zentawr is millions of years.
6. The age of Proxima is comparable the Sun with age. In the future it will become the stable star radiating one thousand times less than light than the Sun. The next to us a star will shine on an extent of 4 thousand billion years that by 300 times exceeds age of our Universe.
7. It is considered that temperature and luminosity of Proxima are too small that in its vicinities there could be a planet similar to Earth. So far search of planets which could rotate around a star Proxima of the Centaur were not crowned with success.