where is proxima centauri in the night sky
Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri (from Latin, meaning 'nearest [star] of Centaurus'[1]), or Alpha Centauri C, is a red dwarf, a small low-mass star, about 4.25 light-years (1.30 pc)[9] from the Sun in the constellation of Centaurus.[17][18] It was discovered in 1915 by the Scottish astronomer Robert Innes, the Director of the Union Observatory in South Africa, and is the nearest-known star to the Sun.[15] With an apparent magnitude of 11.05, it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Proxima Centauri forms a third component of the Alpha Centauri trinary star system, currently with a separation of about 12,950 AU (1.94 trillion km) and an orbital period of 550,000 years.[8] At present Proxima is 2.18° to the southwest of Alpha Centauri.[19][nb 2]