General

What is behind the Sun, above and below it?

Have you ever wondered what exactlysurrounds our solar system? What stars are located in our immediate vicinity? In order to answer this question, it is worth considering the fact that our neighbors, although they are relatively close to us astronomically, are in any case quite a considerable distance from us. So, the most famous, and at the same time the closest neighbor of the Sun to the galaxy, Proxima Centauri is about 4 light years away from us. This distance could cover the remoteness of the Earth from the Sun as much as 270 thousand times!

In order to overcome this distance, using only modern engines, humanity will need approximately 13,000 years. Not the fastest trip, is it?

In any case, despite this indicator, we already know which space objects are located right next to us.

Content

  • 1 Tigarden Star
  • 2 Alpha Centauri
  • 3 Tau Ceti
  • 4 Wolf 359
  • 5 star leyten
  • 6 Barnard Star

Tigarden Star

This star, located 12 light years fromof our planet, recently managed to visit the newspaper chronicle of the whole world due to the discovery of two planets with characteristics similar to terrestrial in its vicinity.

Also interesting: Scientists have found a new planet very similar to the Earth and life can exist on it.

Despite a similar planetary system, the starTigardena is completely different from the Sun: it emits most of its energy in the infrared range, and the mass of this star corresponds to about 9% of the mass of the Sun.

Both discovered planets of the Tigarden system,Despite being similar in mass and size to Earth's characteristics, they make a revolution around their stars in only 5 and 11 days, respectively. Such values ​​may indicate that the planets may be tidal blocked, which calls into question the presence of any atmosphere on them.

Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri - the most famous in the popularCinema and literature is a stellar system consisting immediately of three stars of different sizes. All three stars are the closest neighbors of the Sun, while being somewhat older.

It is the Alpha Centauri star system that can becomein the near future, the first target for interstellar flights. So, the Breakthrough Starshot project is already being prepared, which aims to create a special nano-camera for the first interstellar trip in just 20 years.

Tau whale

Located approximately 12 light years fromof our planet, Tau Ceti is able to boast similar in size and mass to the Sun, as well as the presence of a huge amount of cosmic dust. Despite such an unpleasant property, the neighbor of the Sun has its own planetary system, which has as many as five hypothetical objects, two of which may be within the habitable zone.

Wolf 359

One of the closest stars to the Sun, Wolf 359located just about 8 light years from our star. Due to a very quick-tempered temper, the star is classified as unstable red dwarfs that are able to flash almost hourly. It is not necessary to talk about the existence of any life in its vicinity precisely because of the high level of radiation emitted by the star.

Leyten star

Being a dull red dwarf star Leitenwas named after the American astronomer Willem Leiten, who studied the features of small stars. The star is located about 12 light years from the Sun, which makes it one of the objects closest to the Earth. In addition, studies of the vicinity of Leuten's star indicate the presence of at least one planet like Jupiter orbiting around it.

Barnard star

Located in the constellation Ophiuchus, the starBarnard boasts a rocky planet with a mass of about 3 times the mass of the Earth. In addition, despite the rather close proximity of the planet to its star, the temperature in this unusual world will not exceed an average of -170 degrees Celsius. The fact is that the mother star is a red dwarf, whose mass is only about 17% of the mass of the Sun.

Also interesting: The oldest star in the universe discovered in our galaxy

Based on the foregoing, it can be judged that our Sun is not at all lonely and is quite capable of gathering a real interstellar company for itself if it wants to one day.

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