The nearest stars to the Sun (infographic)

The image is an artist’s representation of the nearest stars to the Sun. In the lower part of the image is the Sun, surrounded by four semicircles that increase in size. Each semicircle indicates a certain distance from the Sun. The closest one coincides with a series of tiny white spots that represent the objects of the Oort cloud, located one light-year away. The second semicircle indicates two light-years away. The third semicircle indicates four light years away, and coincides approximately with two adjacent large spots that represent stars. These spots are yellow and red, the former being twice the size of the red one. These are labelled Alpha Centauri A&B and Proxima Centauri, respectively. The fourth semicircle indicates six light-years away and coincides with an orange spot the size of the Sun. This represents Barnard’s star. Around the same semicircle there are two smaller red stars, unlabelled, with a third one positioned a bit further away.

Graphic representation of the relative distances between the nearest stars and the Sun. Barnard’s star is the second closest star system to the Sun, and the nearest single star to us.

Credit:

IEEC/Science-Wave – Guillem Ramisa

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About the Image

Id:eso1837e
Type:Artwork
Release date:14 November 2018, 19:00
Related releases:eso2414, eso1837
Size:3256 x 1848 px

About the Object

Type:Unspecified
Category:Illustrations

Image Formats

Fullsize Original
3.2 MB
Large JPEG
494.1 KB
Screensize JPEG
81.4 KB
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