Talk:Proxima Starzone

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Diagram of Proxima Starzone

OVAs refer to a 'Proxima' system, should we assume this is the same as the Centauri Starzone (and, therefore, rename this page "Proxima Starzone?")

I suppose it would be more likely for the starzone to be named after Proxima Centauri, as, of the 3 stars, it is the closest one to Earth. — Canary

This is an old one, but after doing the Proserpina article i thought we should revisit it.
I guess this question was eventually answered, at least partially, judging by the state of the article now, but i don't think the conclusion is accurate. There are a few problems i see:
1. Beta Centauri is not a part of the Alpha Centauri system; although it is relatively near by, it is its own independent binary system. Alpha Centauri A and B are the two stars that make up the Alpha Centauri system (as we know it, anyway).
2. Although Proxima Centauri is most likely gravitationally bound to the Alpha Centauri system (and therefore often referred to as α Cen C), it is comparatively distant from α Cen AB — whereas α Cen A and α Cen B are separated by about the distance between our Sun and the outer gas giants, Proxima is over 400 times farther away. As such, if these stars did have planetary systems, it's my understanding that they would probably be independent.
3. The diagram to the right, depicting Proserpina and its star system, appears to show Proxima Starzone as a binary system itself. As far as we know today, Proxima Centauri does not have a companion star, so it seems like either a companion was eventually discovered in the LOGH universe, or Proxima Starzone is actually unrelated to Proxima Centauri after all. (However, the Japanese Wikipedia says that it is the closest star system to Earth, which doesn't support the latter conclusion.)
Not sure if there are any other references to the system in the series, but i definitely don't think the article is correct.  ♥ kine @ 01:41, 4 October 2012 (UTC)
As Kine has said, the diagram shows a binary system. Unless it is a brown dwarf or other type of star with extremely low luminosity, or mass for that matter, the chances that present day (21st Century) astronomers would have not picked up on it are slim. To say that another star, one on Earth's doorstep, was found later in the LOGH timeline is a stretch at best. I believe that an error occurred with the original storyline where "Proxima" was confused with "Centauri" as Proxima Centauri is really only notable for being the closest star, and has, with near certainty, been ruled out as possibly hosting habitable planets due to its nature as a red dwarf, meaning that any planets within its habitable zone would have had to have been tidally locked to its star and would complete their orbits in periods measured in days, not months or years. When adding that the diagram shows at least five orbiting planets, the chances that this is purposely meant to be Proxima Centauri are miniscule in my opinion. Looking at the above diagram, I postulate that we are indeed seeing a representation of the binary Alpha and Beta Centauri system and further speculate that the orange orb located at the image's top left is supposed to represent Proxima Centauri, albeit with impossible distances and size if the image is actually supposed to be to scale, as it is shown to be following its own path which is indicated by the dotted line trailing it, clearly showing that it is not in the orbit of the binary system. I understand fully that the information we have now was not available when LOGH was written and put to the screen, but based on the information shown in the series, I can say that it is not only unlikely, but near impossible for that to be Proxima Centauri in actuality, and while it is still unlikely that the Alpha/Beta Centauri system would appear in this way either, again only in actuality, due to the binary nature of the system, it is at least still possible for it to exist in that way. I also understand that there may be no error in representation or translation and that this may have been intended by the author and writers to indeed be Proxima Centauri. However, due to the impossibility of such being the case in the "real world", and that Alpha and Beta Centauri are in fact a real binary system that is, at least in theory, capable of sustaining a planetary system like the one shown, I think it should be changed to Centauri Starzone with Proxima redirecting into it, not vice versa. And in this particular case, even if it is canon, if it so obviously conflicts with "real world" facts are we obliged to keep it knowing full well that the real binary system that is capable of sustaining a planetary system like the one shown is sitting literally right next to Proxima Centauri? And on that note, since the three stars are so close as to be considered a single starzone, who's to say that the starzone's name has anything to do with the star(s) the planets are orbiting? Since there are three stars, with Proxima being the closest and the name "Proxima" implying the closeness of the system to Earth, it could be that the entire system is just referred to as the Proxima Starzone to denote its short distance from Earth, while the planets themselves orbit around the actual binary system of Alpha and Beta Centauri, or one of those two stars themselves. And as Kine also said, we don't even know if this Proxima system has any relation to Proxima Centauri, and it may be a completely independent system located for from Alpha, Beta, and Proxima Centauri. I guess we don't have enough to go on, and will be forced to leave it as it is, but I just wanted to let everyone know the near impossibility of that diagram representing the star Proxima Centauri.
[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxima_Centauri] Strayor 18:21, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
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