01.12.2022 Written by Dash. 

​

Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to Earth, being at a whopping 4 light years away. According to NASA, Alpha Centauri is a triple star system, meaning it contains three stars. Centauri A, known as Rigil Kentaurus, Centauri B, known as Toliman, and Centauri C, officially known as the closest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri.

 

Although there may not be any planets in the orbit of Centauri A and B, it has been suspected that Proxima Centauri has one planet in its orbit. The reason this specific star system is so special is because of how close to the Earth it is and the fact that you can view the stars with the naked eye. Proxima Centauri habits the brightest stars that we can see from the surface of the Earth.

 

If we were to ever travel to Alpha Centauri using the fastest spacecraft to ever enter space,  it would take approximately 18,000 years to get there. However, if you were to get there in the limits of a human lifetime, one would need to build a spacecraft which would travel at a fraction of light speed. Even with that advancement, using only 10% of light speed, it would still take 44 years to reach Alpha Centauri. Knowing this, Alpha Centauri seems impossible to reach, but with all of today’s latest advancements, is it really?