4.4 The stars close to the Sun

This display represents the sixty stars that are closest to the Sun, the positions of which are known with certainty.

ln the centre on the distance scale is our Sun, which is a star. Each green or silver segment represents the distance covered by the light in a year travelling at a speed of 300,000 kilometres per second.

ln this display the neighbouring stars, represented by the small coloured balls, are magnified approximately 1 to 2 million times so that they can be seen, as they are so small in comparison with the distances between them.

On the scale of this model, the centre of our Galaxy would be situated at approximately 2 kilometres and we would be surrounded by stars, to a depth of approximately 70 metres.