Star
Proxima Centauri
M5.5Ve red dwarf
The closest star to the Sun
A small flare star in the Alpha Centauri system. It hosts at least one confirmed planet, Proxima b, in its habitable zone — though frequent stellar flares make conditions there uncertain.
In your sky
Share your location to see where this is in your sky right now.
Key facts
Distance
4.25 light-years
Apparent mag.
+11.1 (telescope needed)
Mass
~0.12 × Sun
Radius
~0.15 × Sun
Temperature
~3,040 K
Spectral type
M5.5V
True colour from its B–V index (1.82): a surface around 3400 K.
Did you know
- It is too faint to see without a telescope.
- Light from it takes over four years to arrive.
- Red dwarfs like it can live for trillions of years.
