Q&A: Normal Stars, White Dwarf Stars, and Star Clusters

Q:
If Proxima Centauri was in the place or location of our Sun, how much light would it provide to the Earth, let's say at noon? Would it be just as bright at noon with Proxima Centauri as it would with our Sun, or darker?

A:
Proxima Centauri is much dimmer than our Sun, about 18,000 times dimmer. Roughly speaking, if you placed Proxima Centauri at the position of the Sun, you would just be able to make out the disk of the star. It would be very dark here on Earth.

If you haven't already, please check out the Chandra webpages on Proxima Centauri:
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2004/proxima/index.html