The Apparent and True Orbits of Alpha Centauri. The Apparent Orbit (thin ellipse) is the shape of the orbit as seen by the observer on Earth. The True Orbit is the shape of the orbit viewed perpendicular to the plane of the orbital motion. According to the radial velocity vs. time, the orbit is divided here into 80 points, and each step refers to a timestep of almost a year.
Alpha Centauri (also known as Rigil Kentaurus) is the brightest star in the southern Centaurusconstellation. It is the fourth brightest star in the night sky, with a magnitude of -0.01. It is visible in the Southern Hemisphere, and is too far south for most of the Northern Hemisphere to see.