Introduction

Proxima Centauri has long been regarded as a member of the Alpha Centauri system, both in popular culture and to the scientific community.  However, evidence suggests that this red dwarf is actually moving at hyperbolic speeds in relation to the primary pair of stars.  As such, it is almost certainly not gravitationally bound to the pair, and its proximity is simply the result of a stellar fly-by -- something that has occurred to Sol many times in the past.

Proxima, as a red dwarf, is destined to live for literally trillions of years before its nuclear fires burn out.  Already it is an old star, some 5 billion years in age, and as such is a relatively sedate sun.  However, it is still prone to large flares; on a brighter star these flares would not even be noticeable.  However, occurring at their strength on such a small and dim sun, these flares are major brightening events.  Typically indications of youth, it is now known that even older red dwarfs can experience these events.  Why they do so remains a mystery.

Proxima is also remarkable in that it possesses a world of some mass in a close stellar orbit, and warms this planet enough for there to be liquid water on the surface.  While far less clement than the primary worlds of Alpha Centauri A or B, this planet, named Bester, nonetheless can support simple life.  It was the detection of this water in the atmosphere, as well as large amounts of chlorophyll that indicated plant life, which drew colonists during the Great Experiment.  What was found instead was a very difficult world to survive upon.