The closest star to the Sun is so faint you cannot see it, and nobody found it until 1915. This episode shows how its distance, and the distances of the 20 nearest star systems, were measured by parallax.
The numbers
The star distances in this episode are ESA Gaia DR3 parallaxes (licence CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO). To keep this website free of licence limits, those numbers appear only in the episode itself and in its YouTube description. Open the description on YouTube.
Sources and credits
- Star distances (parallaxes): ESA Gaia DR3 (Credit: ESA, Gaia DPAC; Gaia Collaboration, Vallenari et al. 2023, A&A 674, A1; CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO), read through the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg (Wenger et al. 2000). Alpha Centauri A+B distance and orbit: Akeson et al. 2021, AJ 162, 14. Sirius A and B: Bond et al. 2017, ApJ 840, 70. Procyon and the Sirius comparison value: Hipparcos (Credit: ESA; van Leeuwen 2007). Procyon masses: Bond et al. 2015. Epsilon Indi B: Chen et al. 2022. EZ Aquarii parallax: Torres et al. 2010 compilation. Luyten 726-8 system parallax and the closest-approach figures: Wikipedia, List of nearest stars. 10-parsec census: Reylé et al. 2021, A&A 650, A201. Proxima's flare: MacGregor et al. 2021, ApJL (NRAO). Proxima's orbit: Akeson et al. 2021. Planet counts and host masses: NASA Exoplanet Archive, operated by Caltech under contract with NASA. Voyager 1 speed: NASA JPL Horizons (1 Nov 2026); Voyager 1 and Gliese 445: NASA. Planet orbit sizes: NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics. Earth, Moon and planet surfaces: NASA (Blue Marble, Black Marble, LRO, Viking), Jupiter NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute, Mercury NASA/JHUAPL/Carnegie Institution of Washington, Saturn, Neptune, Venus and Pluto from NASA 3D Resources. The 1910/1915 photographic plates are recreated in our own look, not the original plates. Star colours follow measured temperatures; sizes and glows are not to scale; exaggerations and sped-up clocks are marked. All 3D is rendered in our own engine. Every number is spoken exactly as it appears on screen.
- Narration: AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs), script researched and written by Vishala Space.
- Information, not advice. Vishala Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA or ESA.
Visuals are original 3D renders from the data above, not real footage. Vishala Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA, JPL/Caltech, NOAA, USGS, ESA or any data provider.