What star other than the sun is closest to the earth?

Proxima Centauri, which is part of the alpha Centauri three-star system

To find the star other than the Sun that is closest to Earth, you can rely on astronomical data and measurements. The closest star to Earth, aside from the Sun, is called Proxima Centauri, which is part of the Alpha Centauri triple-star system.

To determine this, you can follow these steps:

1. Collect astronomical data: Gather information about stars and their distances from Earth. Astronomers use various methods, such as parallax measurement, to estimate stellar distances.

2. Understand parallax measurement: Parallax is the apparent shift in the position of a nearby star against the background of more distant stars as seen from Earth during different times of the year. Using this information, astronomers can calculate the distance to a given star.

3. Measure stellar parallax: Astronomers precisely measure the parallax of stars using advanced instruments and techniques. By observing a star's position from different points in Earth's orbit around the Sun, they calculate its parallax angle.

4. Calculate distance: Once the parallax angle is measured, astronomers can determine the distance to a star using trigonometry. The smaller the parallax angle, the farther the star is from Earth.

By applying these techniques, astronomers have determined that Proxima Centauri, with a distance of about 4.24 light-years from Earth, is the closest star to our solar system (other than the Sun).