The third closest star system has been discovered...

http://www.geocities.com/blobrana/features/break.htm

And there may be more...

First you say its the fifth, then you say its teh third. Which one is it?

Fifth star, third system.

Centauri system has three stars.

Doh!

The Sun is a star....


Sol 0.00001 (light-years)
Rigil Kentaurus Alpha Cen A 4.3 (light-years)
Alpha Centauri B 4.3 (light-years)
Proxima Centauri 4.28 (light-years)
barnards star 5.9 (light-years)

The new star 7.5 ly

Wolf 359 7.6(light-years)

Didn't see that.

I'm thinking it would be cool to design a computer program that would automatically assign names to newly discovered stars that have only codes. Give it a basic set of commands, so we don't end up with inane gibberish, and just go for it. We'd run out of names sooner or later, but I think we can relate to science better if there are names rather than codes.

Hum,
i quite like the SO numbers.

it describes the (year j2000 ?) position RA & DEC of the object...very handy for me...

Any body know anything about it?

How many systems of nomenclature are there at present? I think the current ones are best. Especially when you look at the long run. When more stars are being discovered you will need an ordered system of classification. Can't make it too artistic (abstract). Although, personally, I will call a star by my spouses name, especially when they're around. Scientific interest isn't the only interest humans have in the stars is it? It kind of brings the star 'closer to home'.

Something to consider is that 98% of heavenly objects are only of interest to scientists(astronomers), so there's no point in coming up with a bijillion names for everything. Most likely the only stars that get named are ones that have a lot of significance, and in the future, the ones that have planets with human colonies.

This particular one is of course of scientific interest, but it's probably too small to support life, original or colonized, so generally it's of no practical use for humanity (if we get out of the system). And anyway, in a few million years it'll be an ex-member of our local group anyway.

BTW, how do you take arcsecs and distance to determine the speed it's moving in m/sec?

Your numbers are out of date on Alpha Centauri A & B. Hipparcos data analysis has upped the distance to 4.4358 LY.

Tnx.
Hehe, i did it through memory...updated now...

@Jaxom

try this site for the simple formula...
http://www.imsa.edu/edu/astro/astrometry/rung2.html

That led to parallax, not proper motion, but it got me in the right direction. I can't figure out a true velocity though, because I don't have info on what direction it's actually going. But given the acrsecs/yr they gave, it's still only going half the speed of Barnard's star...fast, but not a record.

Why has AC A and B changed, but Proxima hasn't yet? Is that the one in a wide orbit, so it's not changing as fast?

Sry about the parallax link, i didn`t notice...bit of a hassle to convert, i suppose.

I don't have info on what direction the star is actually going either. Could be toward or away from us...Safe to guesstimate that it`s parallel, as it`s so close.


There is a bit of doubt on far-out Proxima being actually part of the Alpha Centauri A & B system, but generally Proxima would be C.
( Proxima maybe gravitationally slung-shot into a new trajectory.)

BTW The discovery of this new star has IMPLICATIONS on the influence of passing stars on the Oort cloud. (lots of stars, higher chance of impacts

Good point on the Oort cloud...hadn't even thought about that. Although the probability increase would be heavily dependant on how close it does come to us, plus the direction of the star's path. It would have the most effect in slowing and dropping more debris towards the inner system if it approaches along the plane of our system. Good thing it's a red dwarf and not a big gravitational source.

Well true,
but i was really meaning that the population density must be greater now. There is a greater chance of other similar stars (undiscovered) to wander close to our sun...(with their own Oort clouds)

The Oort cloud is spherical and surrounds our planetary system and extending approximately 3 light years, about 30 trillion kilometres from the Sun.

But i think that the sun bobs up and down, through the Galaxy's` plain, every 65 million years (?); encountering big gas clouds...this would have a bigger influence (probably)...

Not much we can do about it while sitting on the target...hate to suggest it, but we really need a "small" impact, one that takes out something important. Something to jolt us into a prevention mode. Human nature is to postpone what isn't seen as a threat...

I'd say a large hit on the Moon, but once the glow of the crater faded, people would forget, just as they did Jupiter's hit.

Hum,
something like this...

http:www.geocities.com/blobrana/news/mooncrater.htm