Mondo Knows Facts

Proxima Centauri is the closest star to our solar system

The red dwarf star sits roughly four point two light-years away from Earth

Located about 4.24 light-years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus, Proxima Centauri is a faint red dwarf star and the nearest stellar neighbour to our Sun. Despite its proximity, it is too dim to be seen with the naked eye and hosts at least two confirmed exoplanets.

Artist's impression of the planet orbiting Proxima Centauri (eso1629e)
ESO/M. Kornmesser ยท CC BY 4.0 ยท licence ยท source

Where this comes from

ESA

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Tags: proxima centauri, stars, distance

Proxima Centauri is the closest star to our solar system: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?
The red dwarf star sits roughly four point two light-years away from Earth. The figure is taken from ESA, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a space fact?
Yes. It sits on the Space shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
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