Centaurus

American  

[sen-tawr-uhs] / sɛnˈtɔr əs /

noun

• Centauri
  genitive

1. Astronomy. the Centaur, a southern constellation between Lupus and Vela, containing the triple-star system Alpha Centauri.

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Centaurus British  

/ sɛnˈtɔːrəs /

noun

1. Also called: The Centaur.  a conspicuous extensive constellation in the S hemisphere, close to the Southern Cross, that contains two first magnitude stars, Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri, and the globular cluster Omega Centauri

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Centaurus Scientific  

/ sĕn-tôr′əs /

1. A constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near the Southern Cross and Libra. Centaurus (the Centaur) contains Alpha Centauri, the star nearest Earth.

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Etymology

Origin of Centaurus

From Latin; see origin at centaur

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Centaurus Centauri

NGC 4945 is an active galaxy about 13 million light-years away in the southern constellation Centaurus.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 12, 2024

Using a telescope in Chile, the Spanish-led team spotted a cloud of debris in the same orbit as an already confirmed planet circling this star, 370 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2023

It took place at a location more than 8000 light-years away from our Earth in the direction of Alpha Centauri, between the constellations of Circinus and Centaurus.

From Space Scoop ● Mar. 21, 2023

A fire has broken out at the Centaurus Mall in the centre of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2022

It is in the constellation or star group called Centaurus, and is the brightest star in it.

From The Children's Book of Stars by G. E. (Geraldine Edith) Mitton

Among these are well-known exoplanets such as Proxima Centauri b, TRAPPIST-1f, and Kepler 186f, along with lesser-known candidates like TOI-715 b.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 25, 2026

Imagine, he says, wanting to send a single paperclip to our neighboring star, Proxima Centauri.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

The signs were found in the star system Alpha Centauri by the powerful James Webb Space Telescope.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025

By the way, that’s not me saying that I think the final answer is aliens visiting from Alpha Centauri.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2023

Do we have any hope of leaving Earth and traversing the immense distances even to Proxima Centauri in convenient periods of time?

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan