Alpha Centauri: Unveiling the Secrets of Our Nearest Stellar Neighbor

Just 4.4 light years away Alpha Centauri is also the most obvious target for humanity’s first directed interstellar space probe. Such a mission could reveal the small-scale structure of a new planetary system and also represent the first step in what must surely be humanity’s greatest future adventure—exploration of the Milky Way Galaxy itself.

For all of its closeness, α Centauri continues to tantalize astronomers with many unresolved mysteries, such as how did it form, how many planets does it contain andwhere are they, and how might we view its extensive panorama directly?

In this book we move from the study of individual stars to the study of our Solar System and our nearby galactic neighborhood. On the way we will review the rapidly developing fields of exoplanet formation and detection.