Proxima Centauri is our nearest neighbour, but it is orders of magnitude fainter than the double star system alpha Centauri, which it orbits at a great distance and can only be seen at all in binoculars. Sirius, on the other hand, is the brightest star in the night sky after our Sun, but before its turn in the list of nearest neighbours comes a few more unfamiliar names. Let's take a look together to see what other surprises our cosmic neighbourhood has to offer - and why.
