Astronomers have confirmed that Proxima Centauri is part of the Alpha Centauri system
Under the Lens
Proxima Centauri is the closest star (excepting the Sun) to Earth. It is a red dwarf a bit more than a tenth the mass of our Sun, and about four light years away. We don’t know if it has any planets, but that may change in a few years due to a fortunate alignment.