as seen from Sol.
Proxima Centauri.
| Right Ascension | 14h 30m |
|---|---|
| Declination | −62° 41' |
| Distance | 4.225 ± 0.012 ly |
| Spectral Class | M5Ve |
| Estimated Mass | 0.11 × Sol |
| Luminosity | 0.000609 × Sol |
| Proxima Centauri as seen from Sol. |
Sol as seen from Proxima Centauri. |
|---|---|
|
|
| Star | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha Centauri (Toliman) | −6.91 | 0.2 |
| Sirius | −1.25 | 9.3 |
| Canopus | −0.63 | 306.8 |
| Arcturus | −0.07 | 36.4 |
| Rigel | 0.19 | 863.8 |
| Vega | 0.19 | 27.0 |
| Alpha Aurigae (Capella) | 0.26 | 46.6 |
| Sol | 0.40 | 4.2 |
| Achernar | 0.42 | 137.4 |
| Betelgeuse | 0.46 | 499.7 |
| Beta Centauri (Hadar) | 0.59 | 387.8 |
| Procyon | 0.64 | 12.9 |
| Alpha Crucis (Acrux) | 0.74 | 317.9 |
| Altair | 0.87 | 17.5 |
| Aldebaran | 0.96 | 69.4 |
| Spica | 0.96 | 247.2 |
Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star with a spectral classification of M5V. It is the closest star to Sol, being only 4.22 light years away. It is a faint star, emitting less radiation in a century than Sol emits in a month.
| Destination | Distance |
|---|---|
| Alpha Centauri A | 0.2 |
| Sol | 4.2 |
 |
Proxima has the distinction of being the first star system outside the Solar System explored by humans. The first interstellar wormhole probe arrived at Proxima in 2459, and discovered a system of four small planets, all of which were too far from the local sun to be habitable. The system also has an assortment of smaller bodies arranged in a Kuiper belt.
The most useful world is Proxima 1, the nearest world to the local sun. This tidally locked world had great promise as a site for a scientific research outpost, and plans were soon drawn up for the building of a research settlement. In 2470, the research settlement of Proxima Base was founded on the night side of Proxima 1. Because the telescopes of Proxima Base could only observe half the sky at once, the research settlement of J.B.W. Hagen Memorial Base was founded on the other side of the planet in 2502. Both settlements are still in use, making major contributions in the fields of astronomy and cryogenics.
The system has few resources that can be recovered profitably. Proxima 2 has substantial reserves of solid carbon dioxide that can be mined for terraforming projects. However, no effort has been made to recover this resource because other systems have carbon dioxide that can be recovered more cheaply. Proxima 1 has some accessible ore reserves, and small amounts of these minerals have been recovered. The mining rights to the Proxima system were originally owned by the Hygiea Mining Corporation, but were purchased by Asteroid and Lunar Limited after the Hygiea Mining Corporation received the corporate death penalty for crimes against lifeforms and other serious breaches of interplanetary law.
| Planet | SMA (AU) |
Orbital Period |
e | Equatorial Diameter (km) |
Mass (Earths) |
Density (g/cm3) |
Gravity (Earth g) |
Atmospheric Pressure (Earth=1) |
Sidereal Day |
Mean Solar Day |
Axial Tilt |
Known Moons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proxima 1 | 0.05714 | 15.044 d | 0.0007 | 3899 | 0.01920 | 3.70 | 0.2054 | 0.0 | 15d 01h 02.9m | Synchronous | 00° 00.7' | 0 |
| Proxima 2 | 0.1746 | 80.372 d | 0.0035 | 7521 | 0.1492 | 4.00 | 0.4290 | 0.113 | 80d 08h 56.1m | Synchronous | 00° 39.9' | 0 |
| Proxima 3 | 0.3219 | 201.09 d | 0.0154 | 11990 | 0.5854 | 3.87 | 0.6621 | 4.24 | 201d 02h 16.5m | Synchronous | 00° 51.6' | 0 |
| Proxima 4 | 0.6732 | 1.6655 y | 0.1538 | 3491 | 0.009224 | 2.47 | 0.1231 | 0.0000260 | 1d 13h 26.3m | 1d 13h 32.1m | 52° 35.9' | 3 |
| Name | Diameter (km) |
Period (days) |
Semimajor Axis (km) |
Ecc | Inc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Satellites of Proxima 4 | |||||
| Proxima 4 I | 35 | 3.195 | 34490 | 0.0139 | 0.97 |
| Proxima 4 II | 123 | 9.597 | 71800 | 0.0378 | 1.95 |
| Proxima 4 III | 88 | 26.48 | 141300 | 0.0395 | 4.36 |
 |
Proxima 1 is a cold, airless Selenian world about the size of Earth’s moon. The world is tidally locked to Proxima and lacks an atmosphere. These conditions made it prized for astronomical research because it was the first world discovered outside the solar system where telescopes and other astronomical equipment could be installed in an eternal night. The world also has small reserves of ores that have been mined by crawler from time to time.
 |
Proxima 2 is a cold Lithic/Gelidian (Ganymedian) world with a thin atmosphere composed primarily of nitrogen and argon. This world is tidally locked to its sun. Although it is superficially a Lithic/Gelidian world, it is an atypical specimen with an unusually thin layer of surface ices less than 25 kilometres thick. The world has substantial reserves of solid carbon dioxide on its surface that can be mined profitably.
 |
Proxima 3 is a large, cold Titanian world with a thick methane and nitrogen atmosphere. It is similar to the moon Titan in the Solar system and from space it resembles the orange ball of Titan. Like the two inner planets of the Proxima system, Proxima 3 is tidally locked to its sun.
It is the largest planet in the Proxima system with an equatorial diameter of 11,990 kilometres, 94% that of Earth. Its density is only 70% that of Earth, which is due to a significant covering of ice on a rocky core.
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Proxima 4 is a small, cold Ymrian (Plutonian) world with no appreciable atmosphere and a large axial tilt. It resembles Pluto in composition and appearance. Unlike its siblings, it is not tidally locked to Proxima. It has three small moons.
NOTE: Some sources given below count Proxima Centauri as a part of the Alpha Centauri system, while others consider it to be a separate star. In the lists below, references to Proxima as a part of the Alpha Centauri system are marked with an asterisk (*).
This page uses the planetary classification system developed for the ArcBuilder Universe by J.M.Dollan.
