Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri

Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri

At the centre of this image of the Centaurus constellation are Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri, two triple star systems. The brightest stars of both systems orbit near to each other, making them appear as one star. Alpha Centauri is the nearest "star" to Earth except for the Sun. This photograph of the Centaurus constellation was taken at ESO's La Silla Observatory.

Image Credit: ESO
Explanation from: https://www.eso.org/public/images/centaurus-ch17-bardon-cc/

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