PDFs
Books
Log in

What’s the Closest Star to the Sun? Proxima Centauri or Alpha Centauri?

PMF IAS Current Affairs
  • Proxima Centauri (4.2 light-years away), a red dwarf, is the closest star to the sun. It is a part of Alpha Centauri (4.37 lya), a system of three stars — Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B & Proxima Centauri.
  • Proxima Centauri has been the nearest star for about 32,000 years, and it will hold this record for another 33,000 years. After 33,000 years from now, the nearest star will be Ross 248.
  • Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B are a binary pair, orbiting a common centre of gravity. Alpha Centauri A is just a little more massive and brighter than the Sun, and Alpha Centauri B is slightly less massive than the Sun.
  • Alpha Centauri is only visible in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the closest visible star is Barnard’s Star (second closest), a red dwarf which is too dim just like Proxima Centauri to see with the unaided eye.
  • The closest star that one can see with the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere is Sirius (Dog Star). Sirius is the second brightest star when viewed from the earth, the brightest being the sun.

[UPSC Prelims 1997] Which one of the following stars is nearest to the Earth?

  1. Polaris
  2. Alpha Centauri
  3. Sun
  4. Sirius
How do Astronomers Measure the Distance to Stars?
  • Astronomers use a technique called parallax. They measure the angle to a star when the Earth is on one side of its orbit. Then wait for six months until the Earth has moved to the opposite side of its orbit, and then measure the angle to the star compared to some distant reference object.

Parallax Method

Sharing is Caring !!

Newsletter Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss an important update!

Assured Discounts on our New Products!

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending now

PMF IAS Geography Book Hardcopy
PMF IAS Geography: Physical, Indian, World & Economic Geography
Environment Second Edition
Download Environment Second Edition PDF. Hardcopy Available on Amazon
Temperature Profile of Earth's Interior
Direct & Indirect Sources for Understanding the Earth’s Interior
Carbon sequestration
Greenhouse Effect, Global Warming, Carbon Sequestration

The downloads are available to only those members that have purchased

July 2023 to December 2024 Current Affairs

OR

July 2023 to December 2023 Current Affairs

Purchase Jul'23 to Dec'24 CA Now To Download

OR

Purchase Jul'23 to Dec'23 CA Now To Download

Already purchased? Log in to download.

Subscriber Discounts

Active SubscriptionRenewal DiscountDiscount on 2024 Current AffairsDiscount on 2023 2nd Half Current Affairs
Geography30%NA NA
EnvironmentNA NA
AgricultureNA NA
ScienceNA NA
Current Affairs (Old)NANA NA

These discounts are auto-applied to the respective Product Price based on your active subscriptions.

Your Active Plans

Looks like you dont have any downloads yet! Subscribe!

Year(s) = Validity of the Downloads

The validity of the Current Affairs Course is from July 2023 to December 2024 (18 months).

For the rest of the products, the validity is as follows:

1 Year Validity == Validity of the Download links (both Static & the Subject Related Current Affairs) is 1 Year from the date of purchase.

2 Years Validity == Validity of the Download links (both Static & the Subject Related Current Affairs) is 2 Years from the date of purchase.

We strongly recommend a 2 Year Plan as the UPSC Cycle lasts for close to 2 Years.

1 Year Validity Plan2 Years Validity Plan

For example,

If you purchase the notes with “Download Validity == 1 Year,” on 25/09/2023, then you will be able to download the Static & the Subject Related Current Affairs files till 25/09/2024.

If you purchase the notes with “Download Validity == 2 Years,” on 25/09/2023, then you will be able to download the Static & the Subject Related Current Affairs files till 26/09/2025.

If we bring out the Updated (New) Editions of the Static Files within your subscription period, you will be able to download them without paying anything extra.

Irrespective of the package you choose, Current Affairs of Geography, Environment, Sci & Tech and Indian Agriculture are available from Jan 2023.

Current Affairs of 2022 & earlier are available for free on PMF IAS Google Drive Folder.

Once the payment is made, you need to log in to the Downloads Page to download the files (check your email for the login details).

Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss an important update!

Sale! Save Upto 40%
Buy Now
x