Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A multiple star in Centaurus, 4.4 light years from Earth, whose three components form the brightest object in the constellation and the third brightest star in the night sky.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun astronomy The brightest star in the southern constellation of
Centaurus . It is actually abinary star withProxima Centauri as a third component.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun brightest star in Centaurus; second nearest star to the sun
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Alpha Centauri.
Examples
-
It is double the distance of Alpha Centauri, that is, it is eight "light years" away.
Marvels of Modern Science Paul Severing
-
The nearest star to our own is Alpha Centauri at 4.3 light-years away, and the nearest one with an identified terrestrial exoplanet is Gliese 581, at about 20 light-years away.
First Contact Marc Kaufman 2011
-
His unconventional, unprecedented, and wholly unauthorized “detaining” of George Barrile, planetary governor of Alpha Centauri, had—to put it kindly—ruffled more than a few feathers at Starfleet Command, not that Picard had cared.
Star Trek: Typhon Pact Paths of Disharmony Dayton Ward 2011
-
The nearest star to our own is Alpha Centauri at 4.3 light-years away, and the nearest one with an identified terrestrial exoplanet is Gliese 581, at about 20 light-years away.
First Contact Marc Kaufman 2011
-
His unconventional, unprecedented, and wholly unauthorized “detaining” of George Barrile, planetary governor of Alpha Centauri, had—to put it kindly—ruffled more than a few feathers at Starfleet Command, not that Picard had cared.
Star Trek: Typhon Pact Paths of Disharmony Dayton Ward 2011
-
But, he noted, with current technology it would take 50,000 or so years to get to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri.
What's on Vint Cerf's mind: security, cloud computing and interplanetary Internet 2010
-
The train flew past clouds and jumped over the moon, and tracked off toward Alpha Centauri.
Ticket To Ride 2010
-
Next to Alpha Centauri , 8.7 light-year distant Sirius is the closest visual star, but itâs not standing still.
Weekend SkyWatcher's Forecast: January 29-31, 2010 | Universe Today 2010
-
He could check in, hang Do Not Disturb on the door, and waft off to Alpha Centauri.
An Old Sweet Song 2010
-
But, he noted, with current technology it would take 50,000 or so years to get to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri.
What's on Vint Cerf's mind: security, cloud computing and interplanetary Internet 2010
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.