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 == Rewrite the lede == 

 The lede seems to WANT to be confusing. AC is a binary system of 3 stars? No, its not.  The system appears as a single VISIBLE star (to the naked eye) with two stars contributing to its VISIBLE brightness. The first paragraph of the Nature and Components section does a better job at introducing the subject than the contradictory lede. Alpha Centauri may refer to the stellar system (gravitationally bound, composed of two or probably 3 stars as well as possibly one or more planets (although the latter fact has been recently questioned). And it refers to a visible sky object, a ""star"". In addition, I wonder if it is established FACT that it is closest to Earth (that is, that Proxima Centauri is), rather it is the closest star KNOWN. (I believe there was some work published in the last year or two placing some constraints on the existence of stars near-by that have remained as yet undetected - possibly down to the brown dwarf category, which are generally not considered ""stars"".) Anyway, Alpha Centauri may refer to the visible star or the star system. The visible star is composed of two stars and Proxima Centauri, Alpha Centauri-C, is probably the third star in that star system but, although we predict it to be gravitationally bound, it is not visible to the naked eye so not part of the visible star. And please remove the backward phrasing of its relative brightness (note: ""relative"") when its described as ""only fainter than"". Use plain English. Only two stars in the night sky appear brighter. But you should also note that it is a Southern Sky star, and not visible from above latitude X in the Northern Hemisphere, and that it is therefore normally the second brightest star in the southern sky, after Canopus, and is part of the constellation Centaurus. (Not sure what X is, 45° ? ) Any reference to brightness should always clarify that it is apparent brightness, not absolute magnitude, that we are talking about, imho. Perhaps I'm being too picky there.  "