Alpha Centauri

Name : Alpha Centauri
Designation : Alpha Centauri
Constellation : Centaurus
Apparent Magnitude : -0.3

Absolute Magnitude : 4.4
Distance : 4.4 light years
Luminosity x Sun : 1.7 (A), 0.4 (B)
Frontier Coordinates : 0,0

The star we see as Alpha Centauri is actually two stars designated A and B, which move around each other over a period of 80 years in an eccentric orbit - at their closest their separation is the same as Saturn from the Sun. The stars themselves are not unlike our own Sun but a third member of the system - Proxima Centauri - is a feeble dwarf star. Alpha and Beta Centauri are famous for pointing the way to the celebrated Southern Cross.

In Frontier, the Alpha Centauri system is noted for being the system where water was first detected and was a starting point in the colonisation of space. It is also famous among Frontier pilots for the enormous distance - over 900 AU - between the hyperspace egress point and the only starport at Eden Station.