Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is an inhabited trinary star system, meaning it has three stars that revolve around each other. It is the closest system in distance to the Sol system, 4.37 light-years or 1.34 parsecs away.
The system consists of the stars Alpha Centauri A (Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centauri B (Toliman), and Alpha Centauri C (Proxima Centauri).
Alpha Centauri A and B are Sun-like stars (Class G and K), and together they form the binary star Alpha Centauri AB. To the naked eye, the two main components appear to be a single star.
Alpha Centauri A has 1.1 times the mass of the Sun, while Alpha Centauri B is smaller and cooler, at 0.907 times the Sun's mass. The pair orbit around a common center with an orbital period of 79.91 years.
Their elliptical orbit is eccentric, so that the distance between A and B varies from 35.6 AU (astronomical units), or about the distance between Pluto and the Sun, to 11.2 AU, or about the distance between Saturn and the Sun.
Location
- Located just over four light years away from Earth, or about 25 trillion miles.
- This is three times closer than the next nearest Sun-like star.
History
- Resides in Sector 002, compared to Earth's Sector 001.
- Between 2069 and 2119, Humans founded an outpost on one or more planets in this system.
- Among its residents in this formative period was Zefram Cochrane, who moved to the system from Earth after 2069.
- Prior to 2124, Alpha Centauri City was founded. Alpha Centauri was among the earliest systems to be colonized by Humans in the early space explorations.
- Prior to the 2260s, the University of Alpha Centauri was founded on a planet in the system.
- Was the fifth founding member of the Federation in 2161.
