Star
The brighter member of the nearest star system to the Sun, a yellow star very similar in size and temperature to our own.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 4.37 ly |
| Diameter | 1,697,000 km |
| Mass | 2.19 × 10³⁰ kg |
| Temperature | 5,517°C |
| Rotation period | 528 hours |
| Apparent magnitude | -0.01 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Hemisphere | Southern |
| Discovered | 150 |
Stars spend most of their lives fusing hydrogen into helium in their core, and it's the balance between that outward pressure and gravity pulling inward that fixes how big and how bright a star gets.
At 1,697,000 km across, Alpha Centauri A is 1.2 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 1.1 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Alpha Centauri A tonight left it around 4 years ago.
Of the 98 stars these pages cover, only 2 lie closer to us.
Its surface sits at 5,790 K, hotter than the Sun at 5,772 K, which is what sets its colour.
It has been on record since the year 150.
Play today's Cosmodle