9 lines
1.0 KiB
Markdown
9 lines
1.0 KiB
Markdown
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name: Toliman (α Centauri)
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constellation: Cen
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created_by: editor.cs
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created_date: 2023-11-07 09:42:03.665435
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updated_by: editor.cs
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updated_date: 2023-11-07 09:42:03.665441
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---
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It is the brightest star in the constellation and the third brightest star in the sky after Sirius and Canopus. However, it is located quite far south and can only be seen just above the horizon during culmination from 25 degrees north latitude. At a distance of 4.36 light-years, it is our closest star visible to the naked eye. In reality, it consists of two yellow components with magnitudes of 0.1 and 1.3, which can usually be easily distinguished even with a small telescope - at the turn of the millennium, their separation reached 14.1". In 2035, this distance will only decrease to 2 arc seconds. Their mutual orbital period around the common center of mass is 80 years. The α Centauri system is actually our closest stellar system. However, our closest star is actually a red dwarf with a magnitude of 10.7 called Proxima Centauri, which is also physically related to this system. |