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Renee Felker ALPHA CENTAURI ITS NAME: Alpha Centauri Was often called Rigel Kentaurus. Rigel Kentaurus means “foot of the centaur” in Arabic. FAMOUS FOR: It’s the 3rd brightest star in the sky. And a member of the triple star system. ITS MAGNITUDE: Apparent Visual Magnitude=-0.3 Absolute Visible Magnitude Mv.=4.4 BEST TIME TO VIEW: Never viewed from northern latitudes(around 40 degrees) Traveling south below the earths surface, across the equator you will see it. FACTS: This star is a part of the constellation Centaurus. Also the closest star system to the sun. Same type of star as the sun and believed to harbor life. Terrestrial Life Conditions: Questions for Any Star Sun Alpha Centauri A Alpha Centauri B Proxima On the main sequence ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Of the right spectral type ? Yes Yes Maybe No Constant in brightness ? Yes Yes Yes No Old enough ? Yes Yes Yes No? Rich in metals ? Yes Yes Yes ? Has stable planetary orbits ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Could planets form ? Yes ? ? Yes Do planets actually exist ? Yes ? ? ? Small rocky planets possible ? Yes Yes Yes Yes? Planets in the life zone ? Yes Maybe Maybe No ABOUT STAR: Type= yellow- orange main sequence star. Size= About same size as the sun. 40% brighter than the sun. 4.3 light years away. PICTURES: http://aether.lbl.gov/www/classes/p139/spe ed/Alpha-Centauri.html http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=alph a+centauri+&FORM=BIFD http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap960526.html http://www.windows2universe.org/the_univ erse/AllStarTop.html