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How to Explore the Proxima Centauri System 3D Explorer

Open the Proxima Centauri System 3D Explorer, watch the Sun's nearest star and its 3 known/candidate planets orbit at their real relative speeds, and use the habitable-zone toggle and flare button to see why this system's habitability story is more complicated than "closest star, has a planet".

  1. Open https://freetoolonline.com/space-3d/proxima-centauri-system.html and wait for the red-orange star, its 3 orbiting planets, and the green habitable-zone ring to render.
  2. Press "Pause" to stop the orbital motion, or press it again to resume.
  3. Drag the speed slider (0.2x to 3x) to slow down or speed up how fast the planets orbit.
  4. Click "Habitable zone: on" to toggle the translucent green band marking the conservative habitable-zone estimate (0.042-0.082 AU).
  5. Click "Trigger a flare" to play a roughly 1.6-second stellar-flare pulse that brightens the star and sends an expanding ring out across the whole system.
  6. Read the facts panel table for each planet's real distance, orbital period, and mass.

Key published figures

FigureValue
Distance from the Sun4.2465 light-years
Proxima b0.04848 AU, 11.2-day orbit, >=1.06 Earth masses, discovered 2016, inside the habitable zone
Proxima d0.02881 AU, 5.12-day orbit, ~0.26 Earth masses, discovered 2022, too close/hot
Proxima c1.489 AU, ~1928-day (~5.28-year) orbit, ~7 Earth masses, unconfirmed candidate, too cold

Next: the when guide or vs alternatives. Open the Proxima Centauri System 3D Explorer.

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