Alpha Centauri (α Centauri / α Cen); (also known as Rigil Kentaurus, Rigil Kent, or Toliman) is the binary star system Alpha Centauri AB (α Cen AB), of which Alpha Centauri A (α Cen A) is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. To the unaided eye it appears as a single star, whose total visual magnitude would identify it as the third brightest star in the night sky.
Alpha Centauri AB is 1.34 parsecs or 4.37 light years away from our Sun.[9] The two stars are the closest stars to the Sun after their companion Proxima Centauri, at 0.21 light years away from the two, and at 4.243 light years away from the Sun.