Proxima Centauri, the Sun's nearest stellar neighbor at 4.2465 light-years away, turned out to have a small planetary system of its own. Press play to watch Proxima d, b, and c orbit at their real relative speeds, toggle the green habitable-zone band to see which world sits inside it, and press the flare button to see why this red dwarf's radiation is a real complication for habitability.
Published figures: Proxima b (discovered 2016) is at least 1.06 Earth masses on an 11.2-day orbit inside the habitable zone; Proxima d (discovered 2022) is about 0.26 Earth masses on a 5.12-day orbit, too close and hot; Proxima c is an unconfirmed roughly 7-Earth-mass candidate on a roughly 5.28-year orbit, too cold.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Press Play, change the speed, toggle the habitable-zone band, or trigger a flare.
Proxima Centauri System 3D Explorer
Proxima Centauri is the closest known star to the Sun, just 4.2465 light-years away - and it turned out to have planets of its own. Proxima b, announced in 2016 by a European team using the radial-velocity method, orbits inside the star's habitable zone every 11.2 days. A second, smaller world, Proxima d, was confirmed in 2022 on a tighter 5.12-day orbit, too close to the star to be habitable. A third, larger candidate, Proxima c, would take roughly 5.28 years to complete one orbit far out in the cold - it is still unconfirmed.
Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf: small, dim, and cool compared with the Sun, at only about one-eighth the Sun's mass. Being close enough to study in detail also revealed a complication - Proxima Centauri is an active flare star, and its own discovery team flagged stellar flares as an open question for whether any of its planets could hold onto an atmosphere at all. This scene's flare button lets you see what that radiation burst looks like reaching every planet in the system at once, right next to the habitable-zone band the flare is complicating.
- Proxima d, b, and c, each on its own real relative orbit and period
- A habitable-zone band toggle showing which world actually sits inside it
- A flare button that plays a stellar flare radiating out to every planet
- A per-planet table of real distances, orbital periods, and masses
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
Anyone who has heard "the closest star to the Sun has a habitable-zone planet" gets to see exactly where that planet sits, how close its two neighbors are, and why a flare-prone host star complicates the habitability story.
| Figure | Value | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Distance from the Sun | 4.2465 light-years | Closest known star to the Sun |
| Spectral type | M5.5V red dwarf | About 1/8 the Sun's mass |
| Proxima b | ≥1.06 Earth masses, 11.2-day orbit | Discovered 2016, in the habitable zone |
| Proxima d | ~0.26 Earth masses, 5.12-day orbit | Discovered 2022, too close/hot |
| Proxima c | ~7 Earth masses (candidate), ~5.28-year orbit | Unconfirmed, too cold |
| Host star behavior | Active flare star | Complicates habitability for all planets |
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached; no scene data is sent to a server.
This is an educational visualization, not an atmospheric or climate model. Orbit distances use a compressed, non-linear scale so the two close-in planets and the far outer candidate all fit in the same view - the table above has the real AU figures. The star and planets are enlarged for visibility, and orbital motion is heavily sped up.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read the Proxima Centauri System 3D Explorer step-by-step guide. The Space 3D collection also includes the TRAPPIST-1 3D Explorer, a much more distant seven-planet system, for comparison against this closest-star system.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far away is Proxima Centauri?
4.2465 light-years - the closest known star to the Sun.
Does Proxima Centauri have a habitable planet?
Proxima b, discovered in 2016, orbits inside the star's habitable zone every 11.2 days. Whether it is actually habitable is a separate, open question because Proxima Centauri is an active flare star.
How many planets does Proxima Centauri have?
Two confirmed (Proxima b and Proxima d) and one unconfirmed candidate (Proxima c).
What is Proxima d?
A sub-Earth planet, about 0.26 Earth masses, confirmed in 2022 on a tight 5.12-day orbit - too close to the star to be habitable.
What is Proxima c?
An unconfirmed candidate roughly 7 Earth masses on a distant, roughly 5.28-year orbit - too cold to be habitable even if confirmed.
Why does a flare matter for habitability?
Proxima Centauri is a known flare star. Its own 2016 discovery team flagged stellar flares as an open question for whether any of its planets could keep an atmosphere, which is why this scene includes a flare button next to the habitable-zone band.
Is this scene to scale?
No. Orbit distances use a compressed, non-linear scale so the close-in planets and the far candidate all fit in one view, and the star and planets are enlarged for visibility. The real AU figures are in the facts table.