Our Solar Neighborhood
Meet the stars closest to our solar system and discover what lies just beyond our cosmic backyard.
Proxima Centauri
Distance: 4.24 light years
The absolute closest star to our Sun. It is a small, dim red dwarf star located in the constellation Centaurus. Though invisible to the naked eye, it hosts at least one exoplanet, Proxima b, which lies in its habitable zone.
Sirius (The Dog Star)
Distance: 8.6 light years
Sirius is the brightest star in Earth's night sky. It's actually a binary star system consisting of a main-sequence star (Sirius A) and a faint white dwarf companion (Sirius B). Its brilliant glow is due to both its intrinsic luminosity and its proximity to Earth.
Alpha Centauri A & B
Distance: 4.37 light years
These two sun-like stars form a binary system and, together with Proxima Centauri, make up the Alpha Centauri trinary system. To the naked eye, they appear as a single bright point of light and are the closest star system to our own.
