what is the distance from the sun to alpha centauri
Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri (α Centauri, abbreviated Alf Cen, α Cen) is the closest star system to the Solar System, being 4.37 light-years (1.34 pc) from the Sun. It consists of three stars: Alpha Centauri A (also named Rigil Kentaurus[13]) and Alpha Centauri B, which form the binary star Alpha Centauri AB, and a small and faint red dwarf, Alpha Centauri C (also named Proxima Centauri[13]), which is loosely gravitationally bound and orbiting the other two at a current distance of about 13,000 astronomical units (0.21 ly). To the unaided eye, the two main components appear as a single point of light with an apparent visual magnitude of −0.27, forming the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus and is the third-brightest star in the night sky, outshone only by Sirius and Canopus.
Corona Spectroscopy measurements indicate strong ionization and plasma temperature in excess of 1,000,000 kelvins,[1] much hotter than the surface of the Sun.
Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri (from Latin, meaning 'nearest [star] of Centaurus'[1]), or Alpha Centauri C, is a red dwarf, a small low-mass star, about 4.25 light-years (1.30 pc)[9] from the Sun in the constellation of Centaurus.[17][18] It was discovered in 1915 by the Scottish astronomer Robert Innes, the Director of the Union Observatory in South Africa, and is the nearest-known star to the Sun.[15] With an apparent magnitude of 11.05, it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Proxima Centauri forms a third component of the Alpha Centauri trinary star system, currently with a separation of about 12,950 AU (1.94 trillion km) and an orbital period of 550,000 years.[8] At present Proxima is 2.18° to the southwest of Alpha Centauri.[19][nb 2]
Milky Way The Sun is 25,000–28,000 ly (7.7–8.6 kpc) from the Galactic Center. This value is estimated using geometric-based methods or by measuring selected astronomical objects that serve as standard candles, with different techniques yielding various values within this approximate range.[15][16][17][90][91][92] In the inner few kpc (around 10,000 light-years radius) is a dense concentration of mostly old stars in a roughly spheroidal shape called the bulge.[93] It has been proposed that the Milky Way lacks a bulge formed due to a collision and merger between previous galaxies, and that instead it has a pseudobulge formed by its central bar.[94]