Alpha Centauri

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noun

Astronomy. a triple-star system that is the brightest celestial object in the constellation Centaurus.

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Also called Rigel Kentaurus.

Origin of Alpha Centauri

<New Latin: Alpha of Centaurus

Words nearby Alpha Centauri

alphabetical, alphabetize, alphabet soup, alpha blocker, alpha brass, Alpha Centauri, Alpha Centauri system, alpha decay, alpha emitter, alpha-fetoprotein, alpha geek

How to use Alpha Centauri in a sentence

Alpha Centauri sought to write the next part of that story: the game aspired to tell “a history of the future.”
Nerdiness from Noah: Alpha Centauri|Noah Kristula-Green|March 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The proper annual motion of the sun Alpha Centauri exceeds 188 millions of leagues per year.
Urania|Camille Flammarion
Light then could girdle the earth a thousand million times whilst it comes from Alpha Centauri.
The Astronomy of the Bible|E. Walter Maunder
He noted down the directions and set the cross hairs of his forward observer on Alpha Centauri.
Giants on the Earth|Sterner St. Paul Meek

He found from meridian observations that the star Alpha Centauri had a parallax of about 1.
The Popular Science Monthly, October, 1900|Various
Nobody can pretend to be profoundly immersed in the internal affairs of Sirius or of Alpha Centauri.
Falling in Love|Grant Allen

Scientific definitions for Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri

[ ăl′fə sĕn-tôr′ē ]

A triple star system in the constellation Centaurus that is the third brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of -0.27, and the star nearest to Earth, at a distance of about 4.2 light-years. The two brighter stars, Alpha Centauri A and B, form a binary star system, which is orbited by Proxima Centauri, a smaller, dimmer star.