Turns out Proxima Centauri is Strikingly Similar to our Sun

By Matthew Williams October 12, 2016
Turns out Proxima Centauri is Strikingly Similar to our Sun

"The optical/ASAS data showed a nice 7-year cycle, as well as an 83-day rotation period. When we broke down that data by year we saw the period vary from around 77 to 90 days. We interpret that as 'differential rotation' like that found on the Sun. The rotation rate differs at different latitudes; on the Sun it's around 35 days at the poles and 24.5 at the equator. The "average" rotation is usually given as 27.3 days."

Matthew Williams

Matthew Williams

Matt Williams is a space journalist, science communicator, and author with several published titles and studies. His work is featured in The Ross 248 Project and Interstellar Travel edited by NASA alumni Les Johnson and Ken Roy. He also hosts the podcast series Stories from Space at ITSP Magazine. He lives in beautiful British Columbia with his wife and family. For more information, check out his website.