Alpha Centauri is our closest neighboring star system, just over four light-years from Earth. According to the latest data from NASA, the system may also have planets able to sustain life.
In Michael O’Brien’s book Voyage to Alpha Centauri, scientists build a great spaceship called Kosmos that can attain half the speed of light. In the novel, set eighty years in the future, Kosmos can reach the stars in nineteen years. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a galactic thinker, says the voyage would take at least forty years. But until Musk or some other genius builds a ship like Kosmos, Earthlings must observe these stars from down here on our planet. With this in mind, we thought we would reveal the best places in our world to view this fantastic system. But first, a little about Alpha Centauri.
“Our world is drowning in communication, but starving for genuine communio—the union of true communion.” ― Michael D. O’Brien, Voyage to Alpha Centauri
All About Alpha Centauri
Located in the constellation Centaurus, Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to Earth. Most people do not realize that about 85 percent of the visible stars in the universe are so-called “binary systems” made up of two stars. Alpha Centauri is a triple star system comprising Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B, and Proxima Centauri. Interestingly, Alpha Centauri A and B are binary stars rotate around a common center. Proxima Centauri is the closest star to us and rotates around the other larger siblings. Alpha Centauri A is like our sun, while its sister, Alpha Centauri B, is smaller and dimmer. Meanwhile, Proxima Centauri is a much smaller red dwarf star with a wide orbit around the AB pair.
Designated HD 128620 or sometimes Rigil Kentaurus, Alpha Centauri A is a yellow dwarf star, like our sun. Alpha Centauri B (HD 128621) is cooler and smaller than its closest sibling. This star is also a yellow dwarf but has a different chemical composition. Proxima Centauri, the smallest of the three stars, is a red dwarf too faint to be seen with the naked eye from Earth. Interestingly, a recent discovery of an exoplanet orbiting Proxima has astronomers excited over the possibility of life there since it’s within the star’s habitable range.
Best Locations for Viewing (Northern Hemisphere)
In the Northern Hemisphere, Sedona, Arizona; the island of Maui in Hawaii; and Tenerife in the Canary Islands are the three best places to view our closest neighboring star system. These and other locations are prime viewing spots because of minimum light pollution from surrounding cities.
One of the best vantage points in Hawaii is at Haleakalā National Park, which sits atop a massive dormant volcano. Visitors to Hawaii’s first astronomical research observatory, the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory, can experience Alpha Centauri in all its glory. Mt. Teide National Park in Tenerife affords stargazers a similar vantage point to observe these three magnificent suns. Teide Observatory (above), located at an altitude of 2,390 meters, currently focuses on solar observations and robotic astronomy. As for Sedona, Arizona’s high altitude and dry climate make it one of the world’s best places for observing celestial objects. The Lowell Observatory lets visitors view the stars from the Pluto Discovery Telescope, built initially to discover Planet X in the late 1920s.
Prime Observation Spots (Southern Hemisphere)
In Australia, the Sydney Observatory is located on Upper Fourth Street on Gadigal land (aboriginal). The site is not only a stargazing telescope attraction but a meteorological station, science museum, and educational facility. The observatory is also a world heritage site. Near Santiago, Chile, the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in the heart of the Andes is a beautiful observation point to view our solar system, the galaxy, and even distant stars and quasars in other galaxies. Meanwhile, the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA – below) in the Atacama Desert is the largest astronomical project in the world. Finally, in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa, the observatory locally known as ‘Obz’ has its main telescopes located four hours distant near Sutherland in the Northern Cape.
Soon – Just Not Yet
While visiting Alpha Centauri is impossible in humankind’s near future, we can see this constellation up close at the observatories listed above and many more. Thanks to advanced technologies, we can connect with our celestial neighbors and dream of the journey Elon Musk said is “doable” in a few decades.
