If you gaze into the night sky from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere, you should be able to catch sight of our nearest stellar neighbour, Alpha Centauri. It appears to the naked eye as a single, brightly glowing celestial object and has long been a source of fascination for astronomers.
Alpha Centauri was discovered to be a binary star system in 1689, made up of Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B, and in 1915 a fainter star called Proxima Centauri was observed relatively close by. However, there has been some doubt cast over more recent theories about the star system. In October 2012 a team of European observers claimed to have evidence of an exoplanet orbiting Alpha Centauri B, and yet, almost exactly three years later, the theory was dismissed by a group of astronomers at Oxford University. Other theories relating to exoplanets within the star system are similarly up in the air.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 105-utgaven av All About Space.
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15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED