Centaurus

Constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere

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We include updates on Alpha Centauri, Proxima Centauri, Proxima Centauri b, J1407b, Shapley Supercluster, Omega Centauri, V1400 Centauri, ESO 383-76, Boomerang Nebula, Beta Centauri, 2M1207b, Przybylski's Star, BPM 37093, Southern Crab Nebula, 2M1207, HD 117618 ... and more.

March 2024 Follow-up observations of Alpha Centauri A are planned for March 2024 using the James Webb Space Telescope.
July 27 2023 James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continued coronographic observations of Alpha Centauri A, completing a two-day observation period that resulted in failure.
July 26 2023 James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) conducted coronographic observations of Alpha Centauri A on July 26 and 27, which were ultimately unsuccessful.
June 2023
HIP 65426 b
The planet was officially named Najsakopajk, with its host star named Matza, based on Zoque words proposed by a Mexican team, meaning 'Mother Earth' and 'star' respectively.
2022 A study disputed the existence of Proxima Centauri c.
2022 Proxima Centauri d was detected, with a mass of about 0.26 Earth masses and a periodicity of 5.15 days.
September 2022
HIP 65426 b
HIP 65426 b became the first exoplanet directly observed by the James Webb Space Telescope, marking a significant milestone in astronomical imaging and exoplanet research.
August 2022
HIP 65426 b
The first exoplanet observation by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of HIP 65426 b was published as a pre-print, marking the first exoplanet imaged by JWST and the first detected in wavelengths beyond 5 μm.
August 2022
HIP 65426 b
HIP 65426 b was included among 20 exoplanetary systems selected for naming in the third NameExoWorlds project.
2021
Przybylski's Star
Comprehensive experimental analysis of einsteinium isotope signature spectra was conducted, though no confirmation of presence in the star was published.
December 2021 Approximately 70 new rogue planets were discovered in the Upper Scorpius association, a subgroup of the Scorpius-Centaurus association.
2020
HIP 65426 b
Spectral analysis of HIP 65426 b was conducted, revealing the planet is carbon-poor and oxygen-rich compared to Solar System gas giants.
2020 Alpha Centauri A and B components observed with a separation of 5.49 arcseconds through position angle of 345.3°.
June 2020 A possible direct imaging detection suggested the presence of a large ring system around Proxima Centauri c.
2019 Researchers discovered interstellar iron in Antarctica, potentially related to the Local Interstellar Cloud formed near the Sco-Cen association.
August 10 2018 The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially approves the name Toliman for α Centauri B and Rigil Kentaurus for α Centauri A.
2017 Precise radial velocity measurements confirmed that Proxima Centauri is gravitationally bound to Alpha Centauri AB system.
2016 European Southern Observatory (ESO) astronomers discovered Proxima Centauri b, a terrestrial planet with an estimated minimum mass of 1.17 Earth masses, located in the star's habitable zone.
2016 The IAU Working Group on Star Names decides to attribute proper names to individual component stars of the Alpha Centauri system.
February 2016 Closest recent approach of Alpha Centauri A and B stars, observed at 4.0 arcseconds through position angle of 300°.

This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Alpha Centauri, Scorpius–Centaurus association, Przybylski's Star & HIP 65426 b, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

See Also