A conspicuous constellation in the southern hemisphere near the Southern Cross; Also called: Centaur, The Centaur.
Large bright constellation of the southern hemisphere, represented as a centaur. Its brightest star, Alpha Centauri, is a triple star and contains the closest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri. Omega Centauri, the largest and brightest globular cluster of stars in the sky, is 16,000 light-years away.
Centaurus A, a peculiar galaxy 15 million light-years away, is a strong source of radio waves and X-rays.