The nearest bright star to our solar system, Alpha Centauri (aka Rigel Kentaurus) on the left and blue Beta Centauri on the right. Alpha and Beta are
The nearest bright star to our solar system, Alpha Centauri (aka Rigel Kentaurus) on the left and blue Beta Centauri on the right. Alpha and Beta are unrelated — Alpha is light years away while Beta is 390 light years away. Together they are called the Pointers as they point to the Southern Cross, to avoid confusing it with the False Cross nearby. Alpha is a close double star, one of the finest for small telescopes, but it is not resolved at this image scale. However, the third member of the Alpha system, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, is just barely visible as a red dot below Alpha, here slightly exaggerated in brightness to help it stand out. The small star cluster between the stars is NGC 5617. A major dark lane in the Milky Way that forms the neck of the Dark Emu also starts here near the stars. This is a stack of 12 x 2 minute exposures with the Canon RF135mm lens at f/2 and Canon Ra at ISO 800, tracked but not guided on the Astro-Physics AP400 mount. Taken from Australia in March 2024.
Size: 6720px × 4480px
Photo credit: © Alan Dyer / VWPics / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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