Question

After the sun, the star closest to the earth is:
A. Alpha Centauri
B. Siris
C. Pole star
D. None of these

Answer 1

Hint: The distance between the celestial objects present in the universe should be known to solve this problem. The distance between the earth and the sun should be known, that is equal to 149.02 million km, to compare this distance to find the distance between the other celestial objects and the earth.

Complete step by step answer:
The distance between the sun and the planet earth is about 149.02 million km. The distance between the star Alpha Centauri and the planet earth is 23 times the distance between the sun and the earth. In terms of the unit km, the distance between the star Alpha Centauri and the planet earth is about 40,208,000,000,000 km, whereas, in terms of the unit light year, the distance between the star Alpha Centauri and the planet earth is about 4.25 light-years. (Light year is the astronomical unit used to represent the distance between the celestial objects such as the stars, the planets and the other objects present in the universe. A light-year is defined as the distance travelled by the light in one year).
As the star closest to the earth next to that of the star Sun is Alpha Centauri.

So, the correct answer is “Option A”.

Note: Light year is the distance unit and not the time unit. The names of the stars are given, even, the names of the planets can be involved to confuse. The question regarding the nearest planet can also be asked. In such a case, the planet that is nearest to the planet earth is Venus.