Alpha Centauri B (also Rigel Kentaurus B — the foot of the centaur in Arabic) is a star of the Alpha Centauri star system. It is approximately 4.40 light years from Earth's Solar System. Guido Reni, Abduction of Deianira, 1620-21 In Greek mythology, the centaurs (Greek: Κένταυροι) are a race part human and part horse, with a horses body and a human head and torso. ... Arabic (العربية) is a Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... The Pleiades star cluster A star is any massive gaseous body in outer space. ... The position of Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri (α Cen / α Centauri) is the brightest star system (a triple star system) in the southern constellation of Centaurus, and contains the fourth brightest star in the sky, with a total visual magnitude of −0. ... A light year, abbreviated ly, is the distance light travels in one year: roughly 9. ... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... Presentation of the Solar system (not to scale). ...

Alpha Centauri B is also known as HD 128621, HR 5460, GCTP 3309.00B, and LHS 51. HD represents, among other things: The American poet Hilda Doolittle High Definition media formats, for instance HDTV (high definition television) or the HD-DVD format Hard disk or hard drive, a type of computer storage hardware Harley Davidson, an iconic American motorcycle manufacturer The Home Depot, a chain of home... HR, Hr, or hr may stand for: A common abbreviation of hour. ... In astronomy, many stars are referred to simply by catalogue numbers. ... In mathematics, LHS is informal shorthand for the left-hand side of an equation. ...

Some facts about Alpha Centauri B

• Parallax: 0.742 arcsecs
• Spectral type: K0-1 V
• Radial velocity: -21 km/s
• Proper Motion: 3.724 arcsecs/year
• Apparent Visual Magnitude: 1.35
• Absolute Visual Magnitude: 5.70
• Luminosity: 0.5 Solar Luminosities
• Diameter: 0.865 times that of the Sun
• Angular diameter: 6.002 milliarcseconds

Parallax (Greek: παραλλαγή (parallagé) = alteration) is the change of angular position of two stationary points relative to each other as seen by an observer, due to the motion of said observer. ... In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based initially on photospheric temperature and its associated spectral characteristics, and subsequenly refined in terms of other characteristics. ... Radial velocity is the velocity of an object in the direction of the line of sight. ... The proper motion of a star is the motion of the position of the star in the sky (the change in direction in which we see it, as opposed to the radial velocity) after eliminating the improper motions of the stars, which affect their measured coordinates but are not real... The apparent magnitude (m) of a star, planet or other heavenly body is a measure of its apparent brightness; that is, the amount of light received from the object. ... In astronomy, absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude, m, an object would have if it were at a standardized distance away. ... // In General Physics In general physics, luminosity (more properly called luminance) is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. ... For the authentication, authorisation, and accounting protocol, see DIAMETER. In geometry, a diameter (Greek words diairo = divide and metro = measure) of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center and whose endpoints are on the circular boundary, or, in more modern usage, the length of such... The angular diameter of an object as seen from a given position is the diameter measured as an angle. ...

See also

• Alpha Centauri, Alpha Centauri A, Proxima Centauri
• List of nearest stars

The position of Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri (α Cen / α Centauri) is the brightest star system (a triple star system) in the southern constellation of Centaurus, and contains the fourth brightest star in the sky, with a total visual magnitude of −0. ... Alpha Centauri A is a star of the star system Alpha Centauri. ... The red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, part of the Alpha Centauri star system, is the nearest star to Earth, other than the Sun. ... This list of the nearest stars to Earth is ordered by increasing distance. ...

References

• A Family Portrait of the Alpha Centauri System, March 21, 2003.

March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Alpha Centauri system