• Question: what is the closest other 'solar system' called if there is one

    Asked by 1demi1 to Divya, Clare on 17 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Clare Nevin

      Clare Nevin answered on 17 Mar 2014:

      Our solar system is formed around our star, the sun. So the closest star to us is Alpha Centurai which you can see from Earth. It has at least one planet orbiting it too which is interesting

      The closest galaxy to the Milky Way is Andromeda galaxy – it is spiral galaxy that will apparently collide with our own one in 4 billion years!! And it will form a giant elliptical galaxy.

    • Photo: Divya Venkatesh

      Divya Venkatesh answered on 18 Mar 2014:

      Yup, and if we’re looking for a multi-planetary system (i.e a star with multiple planets, like our solar system), the closest is Gliese 876, with 4 confirmed exoplanets. It is about 15 light years from our Solar System. (Ok I got this from wikipedia 🙂 )

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