Baleful Sun

The Niña and Santa Maria as they insert themselves into orbit. The Pinta is out of frame.

Aker. 

Dry. Cold. Dusty. Dead.

Home to Mankind's farthest outspost: the Proxima One research station. Rivaled only by the terraformation of Mars in ambition and difficulty, this controversial project was initiated as much to accomplish its goal of studying the Centauri triplets from up close as it was simply because the people involved could. 

As much self-sufficient colony as it is a research outpost, Proxima One is home to almost 50 scientists and support personnel. As seen now, Proxima One is about to receive its first re-supply mission. 12 years in the coming, this small fleet, the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria, carries almost 100 tons total of seed, industrial and scientific equipment, spare parts, and small luxury items. Once their payloads are released into orbit to descend to the surface, they will have just enough fuel to make the 8 year trip back home, where they will be refurbished, refueled, re-loaded, and launched back to Proxima Centauri.

The planet itself orbits just at the outer edge of Proxima Centauri's habitable zone, whizzing around the star in just under 14 days. Combined with its 196 hour "day", this motion is just enough to generate a definite, if somewhat weak, magnetic field, protecting the planet, and its human inhabitants, from its sun's frequent, intense flare events.

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The backlighting is not purely artistic. It is a, I hope, scientifically accurate, or at least plausible, representation of the effect that Alpha Centauri's stars might have on objects orbiting Proxima.