To the naked eye, the two main components appear to be a single star with an apparent magnitude of −0.27, the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus and the third-brightest in the night sky, outshone only by Sirius and Canopus.Īlpha Centauri A has 1.1 times the mass and 1.519 times the luminosity of the Sun, while Alpha Centauri B is smaller and cooler, at 0.9 times the Sun's mass and 0.445 times its luminosity. Īlpha Centauri A and B are Sun-like stars ( Class G and K, respectively), and together they form the binary star Alpha Centauri AB. It is a triple star system, consisting of the three stars: α Centauri A (officially Rigil Kentaurus), α Centauri B (officially Toliman), and the closest star α Centauri C (officially Proxima Centauri). The name is Latinized from α Centauri, and abbreviated Alpha Cen or α Cen. Α Cen B: Toliman, α 2 Centauri, HR 5460, HD 128621, LHS 51, HIP 71681Īlpha Centauri is a gravitationally bound system of the closest stars and exoplanets to our Solar System at 4.37 light-years (1.34 parsecs) from the Sun.
The bright star system to the right is Beta Centauri. Alpha Centauri AB is the bright star to the left, which forms a triple star system with Proxima Centauri, circled in red.
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