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On this scale, the distance to Alpha Centauri A would be 276 kilometers (171 miles). The fastest outward-bound spacecraft yet sent, Voyager 1, has covered 1/390 of a light-year in 46 years and is currently moving at 1/17,600 the speed of light. At this rate, a journey to Proxima Centauri would take 75,000 years. [2] [1]
Alpha Centauri C is about 13,000 AU (0.21 ly; 1.9 × 10 ^ 12 km) from Alpha Centauri AB, equivalent to about 5% of the distance between Alpha Centauri AB and the Sun. [17] [57] [69] Until 2017, measurements of its small speed and its trajectory were of too little accuracy and duration in years to determine whether it is bound to Alpha Centauri ...
A preliminary mission outline suggests the use of solar sails [4] propelled by high energy lasers to increase propulsion. [4] The proposed launch would be on the 100th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. [6] The spacecraft would reach Alpha Centauri by the year 2113, 44 years after its launch travelling at 10% of the speed of light. [3]
[59] [60] A Genesis probe would travel at lower speeds, at a speed 4.6% of the speed of light, which would take at least 90 years to get to Alpha Centauri A. The sail could be configured so that the stellar pressure from Alpha Centauri A brakes and deflects the probe toward Alpha Centauri B, where it would arrive after a few days.
It would have traveled from the Sun-Earth L 1 Lagrangian point 1.5 million kilometres (930,000 miles) from Earth to a distance of 3 million kilometres (1.9 million miles). [113] The demonstration was expected to launch on a Falcon 9 in January 2015. [ 114 ]
The closest encounter to the Sun so far predicted is the low-mass orange dwarf star Gliese 710 / HIP 89825 with roughly 60% the mass of the Sun. [4] It is currently predicted to pass 0.1696 ± 0.0065 ly (10 635 ± 500 au) from the Sun in 1.290 ± 0.04 million years from the present, close enough to significantly disturb the Solar System's Oort ...
The first star to have its distance to Earth measured after the Sun. Also the 15th nearest stellar system to our solar system. ... the centre of the Solar System ...
On that timescale, the stars move notably. As an example, in 40,000 years Ross 248 will be closer to Earth than Alpha Centauri. [5] One technology that has been proposed to achieve higher speeds is an E-sail. [6] By harnessing solar wind, it might be possible to achieve 20-30 AU per year without even using propellant. [6]