November 2, 2013

A very bright Proxima Centaury in a picture taken by the Hubble Space Telescope (Photo ESA/Hubble & NASA)

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken a picture of the star Proxima Centauri, the closest to the Sun, using its Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) instrument. It’s in the neighborhood in astronomical terms, just over 4 light-years from Earth, but generally its light is very dim. Occasionally, however, Proxima Centauri is particularly brilliant.