Alpha Centauri is the third-brightest star in the night sky – a famous southern star – and the nearest star system to the sun. Through a small telescope, the single star we see as Alpha Centauri resolves into a double star (Rigil Kentaurus and Toliman). This pair is just 4.37 light years away from Earth. In orbit around them is a third star, Proxima Centauri, too faint to be visible to the naked eye. At a distance of 4.25 light years, Proxima is the closest-known star to our solar system.
Alpha Centauri has played a prominent role in the mythology of cultures across the Southern Hemisphere. For the Ngarrindjeri indigenous people of South Australia, Alpha and Beta Centauri were two sharks pursuing a sting ray represented by stars of the Southern Cross. For ancient Incas, a llama graced the sky, traced out by stars and dark dust lanes in the Milky Way from Scorpius to the Southern Cross, with Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri representing its eyes.
This cache is a micro bison located in an area of public bushland. Native animals including kangaroos, birds and lizards are especially common, but as with most ACT bush areas, please be mindful of snakes in the warmer months.