Alpha & Beta Centauri are the two stars dominating this optical photograph. Alpha Centauri (centre left), also known as Rigel Kent, is a triple star s

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Alpha & Beta Centauri are the two stars dominating this optical photograph. Alpha Centauri (centre left), also known as Rigel Kent, is a triple star system; the two brighter components, A & B, form a yellow- orange visual binary which is the third brightest star in the sky & the second nearest to our Sun; the third component, Proxima Centauri, is the closest known star. Beta Centauri (centre), also called Hadar, is a more remote but luminous blue- white giant star. Feb. 78.

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Size: 3471px × 5244px
Photo credit: © RONALD ROYER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: alpha, astronomy, beta, centauri, cosmology, field, hadar, kent, rigel, science, star, starfield, stars, stellar