Proxima Centauri, the nearest known star to the Sun, is classified as what type of star?
Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri (), or Alpha Centauri C, is a red dwarf, a small low-mass star, about from the Sun in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes and is the nearest-known star to the Sun. With a quiescent apparent magnitude of 11.13, it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Proxima Centauri forms a third component of the Alpha Centauri system, currently with a separation of about and an orbital period of 550,000 years. At present Proxima is 2.18° to the southwest of Alpha Centauri. Because of Proxima Centauri's proximity
Proxima Centauri Dutch astronomer Joan Voûte measured the star's trigonometric parallax at and determined that Proxima Centauri was approximately the same distance from the Sun as Alpha Centauri. It was also found to be the lowest-luminosity star known at the time. An equally accurate parallax determination of Proxima Centauri was made by American astronomer Harold L. Alden in 1928, who confirmed Innes's view that it is closer, with a parallax of . In 1951, American astronomer Harlow Shapley announced that Proxima Centauri is a flare star. Examination of past photographic records showed that the star displayed a measurable increase in magnitude on