what is the distance from the sun to alpha centauri
Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri (α Centauri, abbreviated Alf Cen, α Cen) is the closest star system to the Solar System, being 4.37 light-years (1.34 pc) from the Sun. It consists of three stars: Alpha Centauri A (also named Rigil Kentaurus[13]) and Alpha Centauri B, which form the binary star Alpha Centauri AB, and a small and faint red dwarf, Alpha Centauri C (also named Proxima Centauri[13]), which is loosely gravitationally bound and orbiting the other two at a current distance of about 13,000 astronomical units (0.21 ly). To the unaided eye, the two main components appear as a single point of light with an apparent visual magnitude of −0.27, forming the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus and is the third-brightest star in the night sky, outshone only by Sirius and Canopus.
Perihelion and aphelion Earth is about 147.1 million kilometers (91.4 million miles) from the Sun at perihelion around January 3, in contrast to about 152.1 million kilometers (94.5 million miles) at aphelion around July 4 â€” a difference of about 5.0 million kilometers (3.1 million miles). (These dates change over time due to precession and other orbital factors, which follow cyclical patterns known as Milankovitch cycles. For a table of these dates for various years, see Apsis.)