Near-IR Photometry of Candidate Companion to Proxima Centauri

Details Near-IR Photometry of Candidate Companion to Proxima Centauri Near-IR Photometry of Candidate Companion to Proxima Centauri

Dec 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997hst..prop.7847s&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #7847

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Hst Proposal Id #7847 Cool Stars Low-Mass Stars

Scientific paper

We have identified what may be a low luminosity companion to the closest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri {dist. 1.3 pc}. The candidate companion was discovered during Cycle 6 using the FOS as a coronagraphic camera {Program ID: 6059}. The candidate companion is within 0.4" of Proxima Cen, too close to be detected with WFPC2. It's apparent motion on the sky is similar to the parallactic motion of Proxima Cen, which makes its effect upon Proxima Cen difficult to detect with FGS astrometry. If the candidate companion is in orbit about Proxima Cen, modeling indicates the orbital period would be 1 year. The ideal time to image the companion is during the latter half of the year {September-December} when it is farthest from Proxima Cen. We propose HST NICMOS camera 1 observations to confirm the companion, determine IR magnitudes, and to constrain orbital elements. Due to the small spatial separation and large magnitude differences, direct image detection of the companion cannot be done from the ground.

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