Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Alpha Centauri: The Closest Star System

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 3, 2011 is “Alpha Centauri: The Closest Star System,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: 1-Meter Schmidt Telescope , ESO. The original explanation runs about 183 words.

Alpha Centauri: The Closest Star System
Credit: Image Credit: 1-Meter Schmidt Telescope , ESO Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The closest star system to the Sun is the Alpha Centauri system . Of the three stars in the system, the dimmest — called Proxima Centauri — is actually the nearest star .”

— APOD editors, July 3, 2011

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
July 3, 2011
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: 1-Meter Schmidt Telescope , ESO
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 183 words

All of July 2011 → · 2011 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The Sun

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: July 3 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.