Vol. Science · Astronomy · Stellar neighborhood
The stars within about a dozen light-years of Sol — our Sun. Distances are approximate (parallax / RECONS-style public values, rounded). Most neighbors are faint red dwarfs; Alpha Centauri is the famous bright exception. For what G, K, and M actually mean — color, temperature, lifetime — see the stars types & lives lesson. Several hosts have confirmed planets — continue on the exoplanets desk. The light-years are a parallax yardstick: Earth’s orbit is the baseline, and one arcsecond of annual parallax is one parsec. How that angle is drawn is the parallax desk. How bright a neighbor looks, once distance is in the formula, is the magnitude desk. Starlight at a planet’s orbit — Proxima b included — is the habitable zone.
Distance scale is linear in light-years (0–12 ly). Not a 3D map — just a readable yardstick. Spectral types use the standard OBAFGKM sequence.
Distance from Sol · click a marker or card
Astronomy desk
Yardstick
How a light-year starts as an angle. Baseline 1 AU. One arcsecond is one parsec.
Brightness
Apparent m and absolute M. At 10 pc they match. Five magnitudes is a factor of 100 in flux.
Solar system
Planets in our own AU-scale yard.
Luna
Phase dial — our nearest neighbor, new through full.
Color
OBAFGKM strip and life-phase timeline — why most neighbors are M.
Heat
Proxima’s temperature and radius on a Planck curve. Cool, and small.
Bay Area
What Campbell sees tonight-ish.
Other suns
Proxima b and other confirmed worlds.
Insolation
Proxima’s luminosity at 0.0485 AU. Flux, equilibrium temperature, and whether the strip is drawn.
Milky Way
Where Sol sits among the arms.