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PROXIMA CENTAURI

Star - Centaurus

 (ra: 14:29 / dec - 62:40) and moving....

 

 

 

 

JULY 2012, Archicampo, Doyle Provincia de Buenos Aires,

Argentina

 

 


 

DATA

TYPE: Star

APPARENT MAGNITUDE: 11.05 

IMAGE FOV: 23 x 18 arc minutes

SIZE: 1/7 of our Sun

DISTANCE: 4.2 light years

 

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

 
The reddish medium size star in the center of the image is Proxima Cent. 

Proxima in Latin means "next to" or "nearest to" is the closest star to our planet after the Sun and lies about 4.2 light years. Although its proximity is too fain to be seen with the naked eye due to its low 11.05 apparent magnitude. Proxima Centauri may be part of a triple star system conformed with Alpha Centauri A and B.

It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes from the Union Observatory in South Africa.

Seen from the Earth, Proxima has a large, proper motion and moves against the multitude of background stars at about 3.85 arc seconds per year. From an observer's perspective, this will carry it at a length in the sky of about a full width of the moon every 500 years.

 

IMAGE INFORMATION

SCOPE: Celestron SCT 8" Starizona Corrector @ f8 (1600 mm FL)

MOUNT: Sky Watcher NEQ6

SKY CONDITIONS: Rural Skies - seeing good - transparency good

CAMERAS: QSI 583 WS -10Cº

FILTERS: Baader 31 mm LRGB, 

EXPOSURES: LRGB (15,10,10,10) all bin 1x1

GUIDING: William Optics ZenithStar 66 f6. Starlight Xpress Lodestar Camera. PHD Guiding 

PROCESSING: Images Plus, NASA Photoshop Fits Liberator, Photoshop CS