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Proxima Centauri

{{Starbox detail | mass = | radius = | luminosity_bolometric = 0.001567 | luminosity_visual = 0.00005 | habitable_inner = | habitable_outer = | gravity = | temperature = | metal = | metal_fe = 0.21 | rotation = days | rotational_velocity = < 0.1 | age_gyr = 4.85 }} Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to Earth after the Sun, located 4.25 light-years (1.3 parsecs) away in the southern constellation of Centaurus. Discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, it is a small, low-mass star, too faint to be seen with the naked eye, with an apparent magnitude of 11.13. Proxima Centauri is a member of the Alpha Centauri star system, being identified as component Alpha Centauri C, and is 2.18° southwest of the Alpha Centauri AB pair. It is currently from AB, which it orbits with a period of about 550,000 years. Its Latin name means the 'nearest [star] of Centaurus'. Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star with a mass about 12.5% of the Sun's mass ( ), and average density about 33 times that of the Sun. Because of Proxima Centauri's proximity to Earth, its angular diameter can be measured directly. Its actual diameter is about one-seventh (15%) the diameter of the Sun. Although it has a very low average luminosity, Proxima Centauri is a flare star that randomly undergoes dramatic increases in brightness because of magnetic activity.…

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Article summary

{{Starbox detail | mass = | radius = | luminosity_bolometric = 0.001567 | luminosity_visual = 0.00005 | habitable_inner = | habitable_outer = | gravity = | temperature = | metal = | metal_fe = 0.21 | rotation = days | rotational_velocity = < 0.1 | age_gyr = 4.85 }} Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to Earth after the Sun, located 4.25 light-years (1.3 parsecs) away in the southern constellation of Centaurus. Discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, it is a small, low-mass star, too faint to be seen with the naked eye, with an apparent magnitude of 11.13. Proxima Centauri is a member of the Alpha Centauri star system, being identified as component Alpha Centauri C, and is 2.18° southwest of the Alpha Centauri AB pair. It is currently from AB, which it orbits with a period of about 550,000 years. Its Latin name means the 'nearest [star] of Centaurus'. Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star with a mass about 12.5% of the Sun's mass ( ), and average density about 33 times that of the Sun. Because of Proxima Centauri's proximity to Earth, its angular diameter can be measured directly. Its actual diameter is about one-seventh (15%) the diameter of the Sun. Although it has a very low average luminosity, Proxima Centauri is a flare star that randomly undergoes dramatic increases in brightness because of magnetic activity.…

Key claims

  1. publication date: 2025 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the publication date is "2025". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378600320

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.