Editing Centaurus (section)

===Stars===
{{See also|List of stars in Centaurus}}
Centaurus contains several very bright stars. Its alpha and beta stars are used as "pointer stars" to help observers find the constellation [[Crux]]. Centaurus has 281 stars above magnitude 6.5, meaning that they are visible to the unaided eye, the most of any constellation. [[Alpha Centauri]], the closest star system to the Sun, has a high [[proper motion]]; it will be a mere half-degree from Beta Centauri in approximately 4000 years.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2017|pp=110–113}}

Alpha Centauri is a [[triple star system]] composed of a binary system orbited by Proxima Centauri, currently the nearest star to the Sun. Traditionally called Rigil Kentaurus (from Arabic رجل قنطورس, meaning "foot of the centaur") or Toliman (from Arabic الظليمين meaning "two male ostriches"), the system has an overall magnitude of −0.28 and is 4.4 [[light-year]]s from Earth. The primary and secondary are both yellow-hued stars; the first is of magnitude −0.01 and the second: 1.35. Proxima, the tertiary star, is a [[red dwarf]] of magnitude 11.0; it appears almost 2 degrees away from the close pairing of Alpha and has a period of approximately one million years. Also a [[flare star]], Proxima has minutes-long outbursts where it brightens by over a magnitude. The Alpha couple revolve in 80-year periodicity and will next appear closest as seen from Earth's telescopes in 2037 and 2038, together as they appear to the naked eye they present the [[list of brightest stars|third-brightest "star"]] in the night sky.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2017|pp=110–113}}

One other [[apparent magnitude|first magnitude]] star Beta Centauri is in the constellation in a position beyond Proxima and toward the narrow axis of Crux, thus with Alpha forming a far-south limb of the constellation. Also called Hadar and Agena, it is a double star; the primary is a blue-hued giant star of magnitude 0.6, 525 light-years from Earth. The secondary is of magnitude 4.0 and has a modest separation, appearing only under intense magnification due to its distance.

The northerly star [[Theta Centauri]], officially named Menkent, is an orange giant star of magnitude 2.06. It is the only bright star of Centaurus that is easily visible from mid-northern latitudes.

The next bright object is [[Gamma Centauri]], a [[binary star]] which appears to the naked eye at magnitude 2.2. The primary and secondary are both blue-white hued stars of magnitude 2.9; their period is 84 years.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2017|pp=110–113}}

Centaurus also has many dimmer double stars and binary stars. [[3 Centauri]] is a double star with a blue-white hued primary of magnitude 4.5 and a secondary of magnitude 6.0. The primary is 344 light-years away.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2017|pp=110-113}}

Centaurus is home to many [[variable stars]]. [[R Centauri]] is a [[Mira variable]] star with a minimum magnitude of 11.8 and a maximum magnitude of 5.3; it is about 1,250 light-years from Earth and has a period of 18 months.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2017|pp=110-113}} [[V810 Centauri]] is a [[semiregular variable]].

[[BPM 37093]] is a [[white dwarf]] star whose [[carbon]] atoms are thought to have formed a crystalline structure. Since [[diamond]] also consists of carbon arranged in a crystalline lattice (though of a different configuration), scientists have nicknamed this star "Lucy" after the Beatles song "''[[Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds]]''."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.azom.com/news.asp?newsID=993|title=Discovery of largest known diamond|date=February 15, 2004|work=AZoM|access-date=2008-12-04}}</ref>

[[PDS 70]], (V1032 Centauri) a low mass T Tauri star is found in the constellation Centaurus. In July 2018 astronomers captured the first conclusive image of a [[protoplanetary disk]] containing a nascent [[exoplanet]], named [[PDS 70b]].<ref name="EA-20180702">{{cite web |author=Staff |title=First confirmed image of newborn planet caught with ESO's VLT – Spectrum reveals cloudy atmosphere |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/e-fci062918.php |date=2 July 2018 |work=[[EurekAlert!]] |access-date=2 July 2018 }}</ref><ref name="ESO-20180629">{{cite web |author=Müller, a.|display-authors=et al |title=Orbital and atmospheric characterization of the planet within the gap of the PDS 70 transition disk |url=http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1821/eso1821b.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702143511/https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1821/eso1821b.pdf |archive-date=2018-07-02 |url-status=live |work=[[European Southern Observatory|ESO]] |access-date=2 July 2018 }}</ref><ref name="ESO-20180630">{{cite web |author=Keppler, M.|display-authors=et al |title=Discovery of a planetary-mass companion within the gap of the transition disk around PDS 70 |url=http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1821/eso1821a.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702143503/https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1821/eso1821a.pdf |archive-date=2018-07-02 |url-status=live |work=[[European Southern Observatory|ESO]] |access-date=2 July 2018 }}</ref>