We’re all familiar with our own planetary system – the Solar System. But what about our closest stellar neighbours?
This image, produced by NASA and Penn State University, released on 25 April, 2014, depicts the star systems closest to the sun.
NASA’s WISE spacecraft found two of the four closest – both of which are brown dwarf systems. For the brown dwarf WISE J085510.83-071442.5, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope was used to confirm the system’s location.
But the closest stellar system to the sun is the trio of Alpha Centauri. Here’s a list of the 26 closest systems to our sun, compiled by the University of Wisconsin.
-CB