Proxima Centauri. Red dwarfs. Alpha Centauri system. How long does it take to fly to the nearest star? Distance from sun to proxima

At some point in our lives, each of us asked this question: how long does it take to fly to the stars? Is it possible to carry out such a flight in one human life, can such flights become the norm of everyday life? There are many answers to this complex question, depending on who is asking. Some are simple, others are more complex. There is too much to take into account to find a complete answer.

The answer to this question is not so simple

Unfortunately, there are no real estimates that would help find such an answer, and this frustrates futurists and interstellar travel enthusiasts. Whether we like it or not, space is very large (and complex) and our technology is still limited. But if we ever decide to leave our “nest,” we will have several ways to get to the nearest star system in our galaxy.

The closest star to our Earth is , quite an “average” star according to the Hertzsprung-Russell “main sequence” scheme. This means that the star is very stable and provides enough sunlight for life to develop on our planet. We know that there are other planets orbiting stars near our solar system, and many of these stars are similar to our own.

Possible habitable worlds in the Universe

In the future, if humanity wishes to leave the solar system, we will have a huge choice of stars to go to, and many of them may well have conditions favorable to life. But where will we go and how long will it take us to get there? Keep in mind that this is all just speculation and there are no guidelines for interstellar travel at this time. Well, as Gagarin said, let's go!

As noted, the closest star to our solar system is Proxima Centauri, and so it makes a lot of sense to start planning an interstellar mission there. Part of the triple star system Alpha Centauri, Proxima is 4.24 light years (1.3 parsecs) from Earth. Alpha Centauri is essentially the brightest star of the three in the system, part of a close binary system 4.37 light-years from Earth - while Proxima Centauri (the faintest of the three) is an isolated red dwarf at 0.13 light-years from the dual system.

And while talk of interstellar travel brings up thoughts of all sorts of "faster than the speed of light" (FSL) travel, ranging from warp speeds and wormholes to subspace drives, such theories are either highly fictional (like ) or exist only in science fiction. Any mission into deep space will last for generations.

So, starting with one of the slowest forms of space travel, how long will it take to get to Proxima Centauri?

Modern methods

The question of estimating the duration of travel in space is much simpler if it involves existing technologies and bodies in our Solar System. For example, using the technology used by 16 hydrazine monopropellant engines, it is possible to reach the Moon in just 8 hours and 35 minutes.

There's also the European Space Agency's SMART-1 mission, which propelled itself toward the Moon using ion propulsion. With this revolutionary technology, a version of which was also used by the Dawn space probe to reach Vesta, the SMART-1 mission took a year, a month and two weeks to reach the Moon.

Ion thruster

From fast rocket spacecraft to fuel-efficient ion propulsion, we have a couple of options for getting around local space - plus you can use Jupiter or Saturn as a huge gravitational slingshot. However, if we plan to go a little further, we will have to increase the power of technology and explore new possibilities.

When we talk about possible methods, we are talking about those that involve existing technologies, or those that do not yet exist but are technically feasible. Some of them, as you will see, are time-tested and confirmed, while others still remain in question. In short, they present a possible, but very time-consuming and financially expensive scenario for traveling even to the nearest star.

Ionic movement

Currently, the slowest and most economical form of propulsion is the ion propulsion. A few decades ago, ion propulsion was considered the stuff of science fiction. But in recent years ion engine support technologies have moved from theory to practice, and very successfully. The European Space Agency's SMART-1 mission is an example of a successful mission to the Moon in a 13-month spiral from Earth.

SMART-1 used solar-powered ion engines that harvested electrical energy solar panels and was used to power Hall effect motors. To deliver SMART-1 to the Moon, only 82 kilograms of xenon fuel were required. 1 kilogram of xenon fuel provides a delta-V of 45 m/s. This is an extremely efficient form of movement, but it is far from the fastest.

One of the first missions to use ion propulsion technology was the Deep Space 1 mission to Comet Borrelli in 1998. The DS1 also used a xenon ion engine and consumed 81.5 kg of fuel. After 20 months of thrust, DS1 reached speeds of 56,000 km/h at the time of the comet's flyby.

Ion engines are more economical than rocket technology because their thrust per unit mass of propellant (specific impulse) is much higher. But ion engines take a long time to accelerate spacecraft to significant speeds, and the maximum speed depends on fuel support and power generation volumes.

Therefore, if ion propulsion were to be used in a mission to Proxima Centauri, the engines would need to have a powerful power source (nuclear power) and large fuel reserves (albeit less than conventional rockets). But if we start from the assumption that 81.5 kg of xenon fuel translates into 56,000 km/h (and there will be no other forms of movement), calculations can be made.

At a top speed of 56,000 km/h, it would take Deep Space 1 81,000 years to travel the 4.24 light years between Earth and Proxima Centauri. In time, this is about 2,700 generations of people. It's safe to say that interplanetary ion propulsion will be too slow for a manned interstellar mission.

But if the ion engines are larger and more powerful (that is, the rate of ion outflow will be much higher), if there is enough rocket fuel to last the entire 4.24 light years, the travel time will be significantly reduced. But there will still be significantly more human life left.

Gravity maneuver

The fastest way to travel in space is to use gravity assist. This technique involves the spacecraft using the relative motion (i.e., orbit) and gravity of the planet to change its path and speed. Gravity maneuvers are an extremely useful spaceflight technique, especially when using Earth or another massive planet (such as a gas giant) for acceleration.

The Mariner 10 spacecraft was the first to use this method, using the gravitational pull of Venus to propel itself toward Mercury in February 1974. In the 1980s, the Voyager 1 probe used Saturn and Jupiter for gravity maneuvers and acceleration to 60,000 km/h before entering interstellar space.

The Helios 2 mission, which began in 1976 and was intended to explore the interplanetary medium between 0.3 AU. e. and 1 a. e. from the Sun, holds the record for the highest speed developed using a gravitational maneuver. At that time, Helios 1 (launched in 1974) and Helios 2 held the record for the closest approach to the Sun. Helios 2 was launched by a conventional rocket and placed into a highly elongated orbit.

Helios Mission

Due to the high eccentricity (0.54) of the 190-day solar orbit, at perihelion Helios 2 was able to achieve a maximum speed of over 240,000 km/h. This orbital speed was developed due to only gravitational attraction Sun. Technically, Helios 2's perihelion speed was not the result of a gravitational maneuver but its maximum orbital speed, but it still holds the record for the fastest man-made object.

If Voyager 1 were moving towards the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri at a constant speed of 60,000 km/h, it would take 76,000 years (or more than 2,500 generations) to cover this distance. But if the probe reached Helios 2's record speed - a sustained speed of 240,000 km/h - it would take 19,000 years (or more than 600 generations) to travel 4,243 light years. Significantly better, although not nearly practical.

Electromagnetic motor EM Drive

Another proposed method for interstellar travel is EM Drive. Proposed back in 2001 by Roger Scheuer, a British scientist who created Satellite Propulsion Research Ltd (SPR) to implement the project, the engine is based on the idea that electromagnetic microwave cavities can directly convert electricity into thrust.

EM Drive - resonant cavity motor

While traditional electromagnetic motors are designed to propel a specific mass (like ionized particles), this particular one propulsion system does not depend on the reaction of the mass and does not emit directed radiation. In general, this engine was met with a fair amount of skepticism, largely because it violates the law of conservation of momentum, according to which the momentum of the system remains constant and cannot be created or destroyed, but only changed under the influence of force.

However, recent experiments with this technology have apparently led to positive results. In July 2014, at the 50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, NASA advanced propulsion scientists announced that they had successfully tested a new electromagnetic propulsion design.

In April 2015, NASA Eagleworks scientists (part of the Johnson Space Center) said they had successfully tested the engine in a vacuum, which could indicate possible space applications. In July of the same year, a group of scientists from the space systems department of the Dresden University of Technology developed her own version of the engine and observed noticeable thrust.

In 2010, Professor Zhuang Yang of Northwestern Polytechnic University in Xi'an, China, began publishing a series of articles on her research into EM Drive technology. In 2012, she reported high input power (2.5 kW) and a recorded thrust of 720 mN. It also conducted extensive testing in 2014, including internal temperature measurements with built-in thermocouples, which showed the system worked.

Based on calculations based on NASA's prototype (which was estimated to have a power rating of 0.4 N/kilowatt), an electromagnetic-powered spacecraft could travel to Pluto in less than 18 months. This is six times less than what was required by the New Horizons probe, which was moving at a speed of 58,000 km/h.

Sounds impressive. But even in this case, the ship on electromagnetic engines will fly to Proxima Centauri for 13,000 years. Close, but still not enough. In addition, until all the i's are dotted in this technology, it is too early to talk about its use.

Nuclear thermal and nuclear electrical motion

Another possibility for interstellar flight is to use a spacecraft equipped with nuclear engines. NASA has been studying such options for decades. A nuclear thermal propulsion rocket could use uranium or deuterium reactors to heat hydrogen in the reactor, turning it into ionized gas (hydrogen plasma), which would then be directed into the rocket nozzle, generating thrust.

I'm a nuclear-powered rocket

A nuclear-electric powered rocket uses the same reactor to convert heat and energy into electricity, which then powers an electric motor. In both cases, the rocket would rely on nuclear fusion or fission to generate thrust, rather than the chemical fuel that all modern space agencies run on.

Compared to chemical engines, nuclear engines have undeniable advantages. Firstly, it has virtually unlimited energy density compared to rocket fuel. In addition, a nuclear engine will also produce powerful thrust relative to the amount of fuel used. This will reduce the volume of required fuel, and at the same time the weight and cost of a particular device.

Although thermal nuclear engines have not yet been launched into space, prototypes have been created and tested, and even more have been proposed.

And yet, despite the advantages in fuel economy and specific impulse, the best proposed nuclear concept heat engine has a maximum specific impulse of 5000 seconds (50 kN s/kg). Using nuclear engines powered by fission or fusion, NASA scientists could deliver a spacecraft to Mars in just 90 days if the Red Planet is 55,000,000 kilometers from Earth.

But when it comes to traveling to Proxima Centauri, it would take centuries for a nuclear rocket to reach a significant fraction of the speed of light. Then it will take several decades of travel, followed by many more centuries of slowdown on the way to the goal. We are still 1000 years from our destination. What is good for interplanetary missions is not so good for interstellar ones.

Nuclear propulsion

Nuclear propulsion is a theoretically possible "engine" for rapid space travel. The concept was originally proposed by Stanislaw Ulam in 1946, a Polish-American mathematician involved in , and preliminary calculations were made by F. Reines and Ulam in 1947. Project Orion was launched in 1958 and lasted until 1963.

Led by Ted Taylor of General Atomics and physicist Freeman Dyson of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, Orion would harness the power of pulsed nuclear explosions to provide enormous thrust with very high specific impulse.

Orion was supposed to use the power of pulsed nuclear explosions

In a nutshell, Project Orion involves a large spacecraft that gains speed by supporting thermonuclear warheads, ejecting bombs from behind and accelerating from a blast wave that goes into a rear-mounted “pusher,” a propulsion panel. After each push, the force of the explosion is absorbed by this panel and converted into forward movement.

Although this design is hardly elegant by modern standards, the advantage of the concept is that it provides high specific thrust - that is, it extracts the maximum amount of energy from the fuel source (in in this case nuclear bombs) at minimal cost. Additionally, this concept can theoretically achieve very high speeds, some estimate up to 5% of the speed of light (5.4 x 107 km/h).

Of course, this project has inevitable disadvantages. On the one hand, a ship of this size will be extremely expensive to build. Dyson estimated in 1968 that the Orion spacecraft, powered by hydrogen bombs, would have weighed between 400,000 and 4,000,000 metric tons. And at least three-quarters of that weight would come from nuclear bombs, each weighing about one ton.

Dyson's conservative calculations showed that the total cost of building Orion would be $367 billion. Adjusted for inflation, this amount comes out to $2.5 trillion, which is quite a lot. Even with the most conservative estimates, the device will be extremely expensive to produce.

There's also the small issue of the radiation it will emit, not to mention the nuclear waste. It is believed that this is why the project was scrapped as part of the partial test ban treaty of 1963, when world governments sought to limit nuclear testing and stop the excessive release of radioactive fallout into the planet's atmosphere.

Fusion rockets

Another possibility of using nuclear energy is through thermonuclear reactions to produce thrust. In this concept, energy would be created by igniting pellets of a mixture of deuterium and helium-3 in a reaction chamber by inertial confinement using electron beams (similar to what is done at the National Ignition Facility in California). Such a fusion reactor would explode 250 pellets per second, creating a high-energy plasma that would then be redirected into a nozzle, creating thrust.

Project Daedalus never saw the light of day

Like a rocket that relies on a nuclear reactor, this concept has advantages in terms of fuel efficiency and specific impulse. The speed is estimated to reach 10,600 km/h, far exceeding the speed limits of conventional rockets. Moreover, this technology has been extensively studied over the past few decades and many proposals have been made.

For example, between 1973 and 1978, the British Interplanetary Society conducted a study into the feasibility of Project Daedalus. Relying on modern knowledge and nuclear fusion technology, scientists have called for the construction of a two-stage unmanned scientific probe that could reach Barnard's Star (5.9 light-years from Earth) within a human lifetime.

The first stage, the largest of the two, would operate for 2.05 years and accelerate the craft to 7.1% the speed of light. Then this stage is discarded, the second one is ignited, and the device accelerates to 12% of the speed of light in 1.8 years. Then the second stage engine is turned off, and the ship flies for 46 years.

Agree, it looks very beautiful!

Project Daedalus estimates that the mission would have taken 50 years to reach Barnard's Star. If to Proxima Centauri, the same ship will get there in 36 years. But, of course, the project includes a lot of unresolved issues, in particular those that cannot be resolved using modern technologies - and most of them have not yet been resolved.

For example, there is practically no helium-3 on Earth, which means it will have to be mined elsewhere (most likely on the Moon). Second, the reaction that drives the apparatus requires that the energy emitted significantly exceeds the energy expended to start the reaction. And although experiments on Earth have already surpassed the “break-even point,” we are still far from the volumes of energy that can power an interstellar spacecraft.

Thirdly, the question of the cost of such a vessel remains. Even by the modest standards of the Project Daedalus unmanned vehicle, a fully equipped vehicle would weigh 60,000 tons. To give you an idea, the gross weight of NASA SLS is just over 30 metric tons, and the launch alone will cost $5 billion (2013 estimates).

In short, not only would a fusion rocket be too expensive to build, but it would also require a level of fusion reactor far beyond our capabilities. Icarus Interstellar, an international organization of citizen scientists (some of whom worked for NASA or ESA), is trying to revive the concept with Project Icarus. Formed in 2009, the group hopes to make the fusion movement (and more) possible for the foreseeable future.

Fusion ramjet

Also known as the Bussard ramjet, the engine was first proposed by physicist Robert Bussard in 1960. At its core, it is an improvement on the standard thermonuclear rocket, which uses magnetic fields to compress the hydrogen fuel to the fusion trigger point. But in the case of a ramjet, a huge electromagnetic funnel sucks hydrogen from the interstellar medium and dumps it into the reactor as fuel.

As the vehicle gains speed, the reactive mass enters a confining magnetic field, which compresses it until thermonuclear fusion begins. The magnetic field then directs energy into the rocket nozzle, accelerating the craft. Since no fuel tanks will slow it down, a fusion ramjet can reach speeds on the order of 4% of light speed and travel anywhere in the galaxy.

However, there are many potential downsides to this mission. For example, the problem of friction. The spacecraft relies on a high rate of fuel collection, but will also encounter large amounts of interstellar hydrogen and lose speed - especially in dense regions of the galaxy. Secondly, there is little deuterium and tritium (which are used in reactors on Earth) in space, and the synthesis of ordinary hydrogen, which is abundant in space, is not yet within our control.

However, science fiction fell in love with this concept. The most famous example is perhaps the franchise " Star Trek", where "Bussard collectors" are used. In reality, our understanding of fusion reactors is not nearly as good as we would like.

Laser sail

Solar sails have long been considered effective way conquest of the solar system. Besides the fact that they are relatively simple and cheap to manufacture, they have a big advantage: they do not require fuel. Instead of using rockets that need fuel, the sail uses radiation pressure from stars to propel ultra-thin mirrors to high speeds.

However, in the case of interstellar travel, such a sail would have to be propelled by focused beams of energy (laser or microwaves) to accelerate it to near light speed. The concept was first proposed by Robert Forward in 1984, a physicist at Hughes Aircraft Laboratory.

What is there a lot of in space? That's right - sunlight

His idea retains the advantages of a solar sail in that it does not require fuel on board, and also that laser energy does not dissipate over a distance in the same way as solar radiation. Thus, although the laser sail will take some time to accelerate to near light speed, it will subsequently be limited only by the speed of light itself.

According to a 2000 study by Robert Frisby, director of advanced propulsion concepts research at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a laser sail would accelerate to half the speed of light in less than a decade. He also calculated that a sail with a diameter of 320 kilometers could reach Proxima Centauri in 12 years. Meanwhile, the sail, 965 kilometers in diameter, will arrive in just 9 years.

However, such a sail will have to be built from advanced composite materials to avoid melting. Which will be especially difficult given the size of the sail. Costs are even worse. According to Frisby, the lasers would require a steady flow of 17,000 terawatts of energy, which is roughly what the entire world consumes in one day.

Antimatter engine

Science fiction fans are well aware of what antimatter is. But in case you forgot, antimatter is a substance made up of particles that have the same mass as regular particles but the opposite charge. An antimatter engine is a hypothetical engine that relies on interactions between matter and antimatter to generate energy, or thrust.

Hypothetical antimatter engine

In short, an antimatter engine uses hydrogen and antihydrogen particles colliding with each other. The energy emitted during the annihilation process is comparable in volume to the energy of the explosion of a thermonuclear bomb accompanied by a flow of subatomic particles - pions and muons. These particles, which travel at one-third the speed of light, are redirected into a magnetic nozzle and generate thrust.

The advantage of this class of rocket is that most of the mass of the matter/antimatter mixture can be converted into energy, resulting in a high energy density and specific impulse superior to any other rocket. Moreover, the annihilation reaction can accelerate the rocket to half the speed of light.

This class of rockets will be the fastest and most energy efficient possible (or impossible, but proposed). While conventional chemical rockets require tons of fuel to propel a spacecraft to its destination, an antimatter engine will do the same job with just a few milligrams of fuel. The mutual destruction of half a kilogram of hydrogen and antihydrogen particles releases more energy than a 10-megaton hydrogen bomb.

It is for this reason that NASA's Advanced Concepts Institute is researching this technology as a possibility for future missions to Mars. Unfortunately, when considering missions to nearby star systems, the amount of fuel required grows exponentially and the costs become astronomical (no pun intended).

What does annihilation look like?

According to a report prepared for the 39th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, a two-stage antimatter rocket would require more than 815,000 metric tons of propellant to reach Proxima Centauri in 40 years. It's relatively fast. But the price...

Although one gram of antimatter produces an incredible amount of energy, producing just one gram would require 25 million billion kilowatt-hours of energy and cost a trillion dollars. Currently, the total amount of antimatter that has been created by humans is less than 20 nanograms.

And even if we could produce antimatter cheaply, we would need a massive ship that could hold the required amount of fuel. According to a report by Dr. Darrell Smith and Jonathan Webby of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona, an antimatter-powered interstellar spacecraft could reach the speed of 0.5 times the speed of light and reach Proxima Centauri in just over 8 years. However, the ship itself would weigh 400 tons and require 170 tons of antimatter fuel.

A possible way around this would be to create a vessel that would create antimatter and then use it as fuel. This concept, known as the Vacuum to Antimatter Rocket Interstellar Explorer System (VARIES), was proposed by Richard Aubauzi of Icarus Interstellar. Based on the idea of in-situ recycling, the VARIES vehicle would use large lasers (powered by huge solar panels) to create antimatter particles when fired into empty space.

Similar to the fusion ramjet concept, this proposal solves the problem of transporting fuel by extracting it directly from space. But again, the cost of such a ship will be extremely high if it is built by our modern methods. We simply cannot create antimatter on a huge scale. There is also a radiation problem to be solved, since the annihilation of matter and antimatter produces bursts of high-energy gamma rays.

They not only pose a danger to the crew, but also to the engine so that they don't fall apart into subatomic particles under the influence of all that radiation. In short, an antimatter engine is completely impractical given our current technology.

Alcubierre Warp Drive

Science fiction fans are no doubt familiar with the concept of warp drive (or Alcubierre drive). Proposed by Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre in 1994, the idea was an attempt to imagine instantaneous movement in space without violating Einstein's theory of special relativity. In short, this concept involves stretching the fabric of spacetime into a wave, which would theoretically cause the space in front of an object to contract and the space behind it to expand.

An object inside this wave (our ship) will be able to ride this wave, being in a “warp bubble,” at a speed much higher than the relativistic one. Since the ship does not move in the bubble itself, but is carried by it, the laws of relativity and space-time will not be violated. Essentially, this method does not involve moving faster than the speed of light in a local sense.

It is "faster than light" only in the sense that the ship can reach its destination faster than a beam of light traveling outside the warp bubble. Assuming the spacecraft is equipped with the Alcubierre system, it will reach Proxima Centauri in less than 4 years. Therefore, when it comes to theoretical interstellar space travel, this is by far the most promising technology in terms of speed.

Of course, this whole concept is extremely controversial. Among the arguments against, for example, is that it does not take quantum mechanics into account and can be disproved (like loop quantum gravity). Calculations of the required amount of energy also showed that the warp drive would be prohibitively voracious. Other uncertainties include the safety of such a system, spacetime effects at the destination, and violations of causality.

However, in 2012, NASA scientist Harold White announced that, together with his colleagues, the Alcubierre engine. White stated that they had built an interferometer that would capture the spatial distortions produced by the expansion and contraction of spacetime in the Alcubierre metric.

In 2013, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory published the results of warp field tests conducted in vacuum conditions. Unfortunately, the results were considered “inconclusive.” In the long term, we may find that the Alcubierre metric violates one or more fundamental laws of nature. And even if its physics prove correct, there is no guarantee that the Alcubierre system can be used for flight.

In general, everything is as usual: you were born too early to travel to the nearest star. However, if humanity feels the need to build an "interstellar ark" that will contain a self-sustaining human society, it will take about a hundred years to get to Proxima Centauri. If, of course, we want to invest in such an event.

In terms of time, all available methods seem to be extremely limited. And while spending hundreds of thousands of years traveling to the nearest star may be of little interest to us when our own survival is at stake, as space technology advances, the methods will remain extremely impractical. By the time our ark reaches the nearest star, its technology will become obsolete, and humanity itself may no longer exist.

So unless we make a major breakthrough in fusion, antimatter, or laser technology, we will be content with exploring our own solar system.

Since ancient times, man has turned his gaze to the sky, where he saw thousands of stars. They fascinated him and made him think. Over the centuries, knowledge about them accumulated and systematized. And when it became clear that the stars are not just luminous points, but real cosmic objects of enormous size, a person had a dream - to fly to them. But first we had to determine how far away they were.

The closest star to Earth

Using telescopes and mathematical formulas, scientists were able to calculate the distances to our (excluding solar system objects) cosmic neighbors. So, which star is closest to Earth? It turned out to be little Proxima Centauri. It is part of a triple system located at a distance of approximately just over four light years from the Solar System (it is worth noting that astronomers more often use another unit of measurement - the parsec). She was named proxima, which means “nearest” in Latin. For the Universe, this distance seems insignificant, but with the current level of space shipbuilding, it will take more than one generation of people to reach it.

Proxima Centauri

In the sky this star can only be seen through a telescope. It shines about one hundred and fifty times weaker than the Sun. It is also significantly smaller in size than the latter, and its surface temperature is two times lower. Astronomers consider this star and the existence of planets around it to be unlikely. And therefore there is no point in flying there. Although the triple system itself deserves attention - such objects are not very common in the Universe. The stars in them revolve around each other in bizarre orbits, and sometimes they “devour” their neighbor.

Deep space

Let's say a few words about the most distant of those discovered on this moment object in the Universe. Of those visible without the use of special optical devices, this is, without a doubt, the Andromeda Nebula. Its brightness is approximately a quarter magnitude. And the closest star to Earth in this galaxy is located from us, according to astronomers, at a distance of two million light years. Mind-blowing magnitude! After all, we see it as it was two million years ago - that’s how easy it is to look into the past! But let's return to our “neighbors”. The closest galaxy to us is a dwarf galaxy, which can be observed in the constellation Sagittarius. She is so close to us that she practically absorbs her! True, it will still take eighty thousand light years to fly to it. These are the distances in space! The Magellanic Cloud is not worth talking about. This satellite of the Milky Way is almost 170 million light years behind us.

The closest stars to Earth

There are fifty-one relatively close to the Sun. But we will list only eight. So, meet:

Proxima Centauri, already mentioned above. Distance - four light years, class M5.5 (red or brown dwarf).
The stars Alpha Centauri A and B. They are 4.3 light years away from us. Objects of class D2 and K1 respectively. Alpha Centauri is also the closest star to Earth, similar in temperature to our Sun.
Barnard's Star - it is also called “Flying” because it moves at a high speed (compared to other space objects). Located at a distance of 6 light years from the Sun. M3.8 class object. In the sky it can be found in the constellation Ophiuchus.
Wolf 359 is located 7.7 light years away. 16th magnitude object in the constellation Draco. Class M5.8.
Lalande 1185 is 8.2 light years away from our system. Located in Object class M2.1. Magnitude - 10.
Tau Ceti is located 8.4 light years away. M5,6 class star.
The Sirius A and B system is eight and a half light years away. Stars class A1 and DA.
Ross 154 in the constellation Sagittarius. Located at a distance of 9.4 light years from the Sun. M class star 3.6.

Only space objects located within a radius of ten light years from us are mentioned here.

Sun

However, looking at the sky, we forget that the closest star to Earth is still the Sun. This is the center of our system. Without it, life on Earth would have been impossible, and our planet was formed along with this star. That's why she deserves special attention. A little about her. Like all stars, the Sun is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. Moreover, the first one constantly turns into the last one. As a result, heavier elements are also formed. And the older the star, the more they accumulate.

In terms of age, the closest star to Earth is no longer young, it is about five billion years old. is ~2.10 33 g, diameter - 1,392,000 kilometers. The temperature on the surface reaches 6000 K. In the middle of the star it rises. The atmosphere of the Sun consists of three parts: the corona, the chromosphere and the photosphere.

Solar activity significantly affects life on Earth. It is argued that climate, weather and the state of the biosphere depend on it. It is known about the eleven-year periodicity of solar activity.

> Proxima Centauri

- a red dwarf of the Centaurus constellation and the star closest to Earth: description and characteristics with photos, how to find it in the sky, distance, facts.

(Alpha Centauri C) is the closest single alien star to Earth. Located in the constellation Centaurus. The distance from the solar system to Proxima Centauri is 4.243 light years. From Latin, “proxima” is translated as “near/closer to.” The distance from stellar object C to the Alpha Centauri AB system is 0.237 light years.

Proxima Centauri is believed to be the third member of the Alpha Centauri AB system, but its orbital period reaches 500,000 years. Before us is a red dwarf, which in terms of luminosity is too faint to find without using a telescope. The magnitude of the star reaches 11.05. It was found by Robert Innes in 1915.

Proxima Centauri is a class of flare stars—variables that randomly increase in brightness due to magnetic activity. This results in the creation of X-rays. The mass of the star reaches 1/8 of the Sun, and the diameter - 1/7 of the Sun.

Proxima Centauri is slowly releasing energy so it will remain on the main sequence for the next 4 trillion years, which is 300 times the current age of the Universe. You can admire photographs of the star from the Hubble Space Telescope, or use our star map to find Proxima Centauri in the sky yourself.

The Hubble telescope was able to capture the bright glow of the nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Located in the constellation Centaurus at a distance of 4 light years. It appears bright here, but cannot be found with the naked eye. The average visibility is extremely low, and its massiveness reaches only the 8th part of the sun. But periodically the brightness of the star increases. Proxima Centauri is classified as a flare star. That is, convection processes inside it lead to random changes in luminosity. This also hints at the long existence of the star. Scientists believe it will remain on the main sequence for another 4 trillion years, which is 300 times the current age of the universe. Observations were made by Planetary Camera 2 of the Hubble Space Telescope. Proxima Centauri enters the system with two members, A and B, not included in the frame.

It is believed that eventually Proxima Centauri will begin to cool and shrink in size, changing its color from red to blue. At this point, the brightness will increase to 2.5% solar. When the hydrogen fuel in the stellar core runs out, Proxima Centauri transforms into a white dwarf.

The star can be observed by those who live south of 27° N. w. To view, you will need a minimum of a 3.1-inch telescope and ideal conditions viewing.

For 32,000 years, Proxima Centauri was considered the closest star to the Sun and will remain in this position for another 33,000 years. Then its place will be taken by the star Ross 248, a red dwarf located in the constellation Andromeda.

For residents of northern latitudes, the closest star to Earth seems to be Barnard - a red dwarf in the constellation Ophiuchus. If we are looking for the nearest star visible to the naked eye, it is Sirius, 8.6 light years away.

Proxima Centauri is the closest star to Earth

Proxima Centauri is 271,000 AU away from us. (4.22 light years). It is located closer to the Alpha Centauri AB system, which is 4.35 light years away from the Solar System.

We are talking about huge distances. The Voyager 1 spacecraft is moving at a speed of 17.3 km/s (faster than a bullet). If it headed to the star Proxima Centauri, it would take 73,000 years to travel. If he managed to accelerate to the speed of light, it would take 4.22 years.

The distance from the Solar System to the star Proxima Centauri was calculated using the parallax method. Scientists measured the star's position in relation to other stars in the sky, and then took repeated measurements 6 months later, when the Earth was on the other side of the orbit. Although Proxima Centauri is the closest, it is believed that there may still be undetected brown dwarfs between us and the star.

A detailed survey of the system excluded superterrestrial planets and brown dwarfs from the habitable zone. Proxima Centauri is a flare star type, so it may not support life on potential planets at all. Any worlds in orbit around the star can be found using the James Webb Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2021.

Facts about the star Proxima Centauri

In 1915, Robert Innes discovered the star Proxima Centauri. He noticed that it shared a common regular motion with the star Alpha Centauri.

In 1917, John Voyut used trigonometric parallax measurements and found that the star was about the same distance from us as the binary Alpha Centauri system. In 1928, Harold Alden used the same method and realized that Proxima Centauri was closer to us with a parallax of 0.783''.

The flaring nature of the star was noted by Harlow Shapley in 1951. If we compare it with archival photographs, we can see that its value has increased by 8%. This helped Proxima Centauri become the most active flare star.

Proxima Centauri belongs to the M5.5 class - it is a red dwarf with an extremely low mass. Because of this, its interior is convective, where helium circulates throughout the star rather than pooling in the core.

Stellar flares can be as large as the star itself, and the temperature rises to 27 million K. This is enough to create X-rays. In terms of luminosity, Proxima Centauri reaches only 0.17% of the Sun, in diameter - 1/7 of the Sun and is about 1.5 times larger than Jupiter.

The massiveness of Proxima Centauri is 12.3% solar, and the surface temperature rises to 3500 K. The star will make its closest approach to the Sun in 26,700 years, reducing the distance to 3.11 light years. If we looked at the Sun from the position of Proxima Centauri, we would see a bright star in the territory of the constellation Cassiopeia. The observed magnitude of the star is 0.4.

Alpha Centauri C

Proxima Centauri is part of the Alpha Centauri AB system and is 0.21 light years away from the stars. At the same time, the star spends 500,000 years rotating in orbit. Most likely, there is a gravitational connection between them.

A tri-component system in the constellation Centaurus forms when a low-mass star is attracted to a more massive binary system within a star cluster until it dissipates. Alpha Centauri and Proxima Centauri share a common regular motion with a triple, two double and six single stars. This suggests that all these stars are capable of forming a moving star group.

The star Alpha Centauri is easy to find from southern latitudes, as it is brighter than the stars indicating the Southern Cross asterism. The binary star system can be resolved using a small telescope. But Proxima Centauri is 2 degrees to the south and to observe it you will need at least a large amateur telescope.

Physical characteristics and orbit of the star Proxima Centauri

Constellation: Centaurus.
Spectral class M5.5 Ve.
Coordinates: 14h 29m 42.9487s (right ascension), -62° 40" 46.141" (declination).
Distance: 4.243 light years.
Apparent magnitude (V): 11.05.
Apparent magnitude (J): 5.35.
Absolute value: 15.49.
Luminosity: 0.0017 solar.
Massive: 0.123 solar.
Radius: 0.141 solar.
Temperature mark: 3042 K.
Surface density: 5.20.
Rotation: 83.5 days.
Rotation speed: 2.7 km/s.
Names: Proxima Centauri, Alpha Centauri C, CCDM J14396-6050C, GCTP 3278.00, GJ 551, HIP 70890, LFT 1110, LHS 49, LPM 526, LTT 5721, NLTT 37460, V645 Centauri.

Alpha Centauri is the target of spaceship flights in many works belonging to the science fiction genre. This closest star to us belongs to a celestial design embodying the legendary centaur Chiron, according to Greek mythology, who was the teacher of Hercules and Achilles.

Modern researchers, like writers, tirelessly return in their thoughts to this star system, since it is not only the first candidate for a long-term space expedition, but also a possible owner of an inhabited planet.

Structure

The Alpha Centauri star system includes three space objects: two stars with the same name and designations A and B, and such stars are characterized by a close location of two components and a distant location of the third. Proxima is just the latter. The distance to Alpha Centauri with all its elements is approximately 4.3 There are currently no stars located closer to Earth. At the same time, the fastest flight is to Proxima: we are separated by only 4.22 light years.

Solar relatives

Alpha Centauri A and B differ from their companion not only in their distance from Earth. Unlike Proxima, they are in many ways similar to the Sun. Alpha Centauri A or Rigel Centaurus (translated as “leg of the Centaur”) is the brighter component of the pair. Toliman A, as this star is also called, is a yellow dwarf. It is clearly visible from Earth, as it has a magnitude of zero. This parameter makes it the fourth brightest point in the night sky. The size of the object is almost the same as that of the sun.

The star Alpha Centauri B is inferior to our star in mass (about 0.9 of the corresponding parameter of the Sun). It belongs to objects of the first magnitude, and its luminosity level is approximately half that of main star our piece of the Galaxy. The distance between the two neighboring companions is 23 astronomical units, meaning they are 23 times farther apart than the Earth is from the Sun. Toliman A and Toliman B rotate together around the same center of mass with a period of 80 years.

Recent discovery

Scientists, as already mentioned, have high hopes for discovering life in the vicinity of the star Alpha Centauri. The planets supposedly existing here may resemble Earth in the same way that the components of the system themselves resemble our star. Until recently, however, no such cosmic bodies were discovered near the star. The distance does not allow direct observation of the planets. Obtaining evidence of the existence of an earth-like object became possible only with the improvement of technology.

Using the radial velocity method, scientists were able to detect very small vibrations of Toliman B, which arise under the influence of the gravitational forces of the planet orbiting around it. Thus, evidence was obtained of the existence of at least one such object in the system. The vibrations caused by the planet appear as it moves 51 cm per second forward and then backward. Under Earth conditions, such a movement of even the largest body would be very noticeable. However, at a distance of 4.3 light years, detecting such a wobble seems impossible. Nevertheless, it was registered.

Sister of the Earth

The discovered planet orbits Alpha Centauri B in 3.2 days. It is located very close to the star: the orbital radius is ten times smaller than the corresponding parameter characteristic of Mercury. The mass of this space object is close to that of Earth and is approximately 1.1 times the mass of the Blue Planet. This is where the similarity ends: the close location, according to scientists, suggests that the emergence of life on the planet is impossible. The energy of the luminary reaching its surface heats it up too much.

Nearest

The third component that makes the entire constellation famous is Alpha Centauri C or Proxima Centauri. The name of the cosmic body translated means “nearest”. Proxima stands at a distance of 13,000 light years from its companions. This object is the eleventh red dwarf, small (about 7 times smaller than the Sun) and very dim. It is impossible to see it with the naked eye. Proxima is characterized by a “restless” state: the star is capable of doubling its brightness in a few minutes. The reason for this “behavior” is in the internal processes occurring in the bowels of the dwarf.

Dual position

Proxima has long been thought to be the third member of the Alpha Centauri system, orbiting the pair A and B every about 500 years. However, in Lately The opinion is gaining strength that the red dwarf has nothing to do with them, and the interaction of the three cosmic bodies is a temporary phenomenon.

The reason for doubt was the data that said that the close-knit pair of stars does not have sufficient gravity to hold Proxima as well. The information obtained in the early 90s of the last century required additional confirmation for a long time. Recent observations and calculations by scientists have not given a clear answer. According to assumptions, Proxima may still be part of a triple system and move around a common gravitational center. In this case, its orbit should resemble an elongated oval, with the most distant point from the center being the one at which the star is observed now.

Projects

Be that as it may, it is to Proxima that it is planned to fly first when this becomes possible. The journey to Alpha Centauri, with the current level of development of space technology, can last more than 1000 years. Such a time period is simply unthinkable, which is why scientists are actively searching for options to reduce it.

A group of NASA researchers led by Harold White is developing Project Speed, which should result in new engine. Its peculiarity will be the ability to overcome the speed of light, due to which the flight from Earth to the nearest star will take only two weeks. Such a miracle of technology will be a real masterpiece of the united work of theoretical physicists and experimentalists. For now, however, a ship that overcomes the speed of light is a thing of the future. According to Mark Millis, who once worked at NASA, such technologies, given the current speed of progress, will become a reality no earlier than in two hundred years. Reducing the period is possible only if a discovery is made that can radically change existing ideas about space flight.

For now, Proxima Centauri and its companions remain an ambitious goal, unattainable in the near future. The technology, however, is constantly being improved, and new information about the characteristics of the star system is clear evidence of this. Already today, scientists can do many things that they could not even dream of 40-50 years ago.

What is the distance from Earth to the nearest star, Proxy Centauri?

Consider - 3.87 light years * for 365 days * 86400 (number of seconds in a day) * 300,000 (speed of light km/s) = (approximately) like Vladimir Ustinov, and our Sun is only 150 million km
Perhaps there are stars closer (the sun doesn’t count), but they are very small (a white dwarf, for example), but they have not yet been discovered. 4 light years is still very far away((((((
The closest star from the Sun, Proxima Centauri. Its diameter is seven times less than that of the sun, and the same applies to its mass. Its luminosity is 0.17% of the luminosity of the Sun, or only 0.0056% in the spectrum visible to the human eye. This explains the fact that it cannot be seen with the naked eye, and the fact that it was discovered only in the 20th century. The distance from the Sun to this star is 4.22 light years. Which by cosmic standards is almost close. After all, even the gravity of our Sun extends to approximately half this distance! However, for humanity, this distance is truly enormous. Distances on planetary scales are measured in light years. How far will light travel in a vacuum in 365 days? This value is 9,640 billion kilometers. To understand distances, here are a few examples. The distance from the Earth to the Moon is 1.28 light seconds, and at modern technologies the journey takes 3 days. Between our planets solar system distances range from 2.3 light minutes to 5.3 light hours. In other words, the longest journey will take just over 10 years on an unmanned spacecraft. Now let's consider how much time we need to fly to Proxima Centauri. The current champion in speed is the unmanned spacecraft Helios 2. Its speed is 253,000 km/h or 0.02334% of the speed of light. Having calculated, we find out that it will take us 18,000 years to get to the nearest star. At the current level of technology development, we can only ensure the operation of a spacecraft for 50 years.
It's hard to imagine distances using numbers. If our sun is reduced to the size of a match head, then the distance to the nearest star will be approximately 1 kilometer
Proxima Centauri is approximately 40,000,000,000,000 km away... 4.22 light years.. Alpha Centauri is 4.37 light years away. of the year…
4 light years (approximately 37,843,200,000,000 km)
You are confusing something, dear colleague. The nearest star is the Sun. 8 minutes and a little with no light coming on :)
To Proxima: 4.22 (+- 0.01) light years. Or 1.295 (+-0.004) parsec. Taken from here.
to Proxima Centauri 4.2 light years is 41,734,219,479,449.6 km, if 1 light year is 9,460,528,447,488 km
4.5 light years (1 parsec?)
There are stars in the Universe that are so far from us that we do not even have the opportunity to know their distance or determine their number. But how far is the nearest star from Earth?
The distance from the Earth to the Sun is 150,000,000 kilometers. Since light travels at 300,000 km/sec, it takes 8 minutes to travel from the Sun to the Earth.
The closest stars to us are Proxima Centauri and Alpha Centauri. The distance from them to the Earth is 270,000 times greater than the distance from the Sun to the Earth. That is, the distance from us to these stars is 270,000 times more than 150,000,000 kilometers! Their light takes 4.5 years to reach Earth.
The distance to the stars is so great that it was necessary to develop a unit for measuring this distance. It's called a light year. This is the distance that light travels in one year. This is approximately 10 trillion kilometers (10,000,000,000,000 km). The distance to the nearest star exceeds this distance by 4.5 times.
Of all the stars in the sky, only 6000 can be seen without a telescope, with the naked eye. Not all of these stars are visible from the UK.
In fact, looking up at the sky and observing the stars, there are a little over a thousand of them. And with a powerful telescope you can detect many, many times more.