Glossary term: Proxima Centauri
Description: Proxima Centauri, also known as Alpha Centauri C, is the nearest star to the Sun at a distance of 4.24 light years (1.302 parsecs), or about 40 trillion kilometers. It is a red dwarf star, smaller than the Sun in size and mass, and therefore too faint to be seen with the naked eye. At the time of writing, there is one confirmed planet that orbits Proxima Centauri. It has been designated Proxima Centauri b, and its orbit is in the so-called habitable zone of the star. Two additional candidates for planets, Proxima Centauri c and d, have not yet been confirmed. Together with Alpha Centauri A and B, Proxima Centauri forms the Alpha–Centauri star system, which is comprised of three gravitationally bound stars.
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Term and definition status: This term and its definition have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher
The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".
