Zeta Centauri is a star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 Centaurus

Centaurus

Centaurus is a bright constellation in the southern sky. One of the largest constellations, Centaurus was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations.-Stars:...

. It has the proper name Alnair, from the scientific-Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 Nayyir Badan Qanṭūris (ألناير ألبطن ألقنتورس), meaning "The Bright (Star) of the Body of the Centaur

Centaurus

Centaurus is a bright constellation in the southern sky. One of the largest constellations, Centaurus was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations.-Stars:...

".

In Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, , meaning Arsenal

Horn (Chinese constellation)

The Horn mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the eastern mansions of the Azure Dragon.-Asterisms:...

, refers to an asterism consisting of ζ Centauri, η Centauri, θ Centauri

Theta Centauri

Theta Centauri is a star in the constellation Centaurus. It is also has the traditional Arabic name Menkent...

, 2 Centauri

2 Centauri

2 Centauri is a star in the constellation Centaurus.2 Centauri is a M-type red giant with a mean apparent magnitude of +4.19. It is approximately 177.4 light years from Earth. It is classified as a semiregular variable star and its brightness varies from magnitude +4.16 to +4.26 with a period of...

, HD 117440

HD 117440

HD 117440, also known by its Bayer designation d Centauri , is a binary star in the constellation Centaurus. It is approximately 1250 light years from Earth....

, ξ¹ Centauri, γ Centauri

Gamma Centauri

Gamma Centauri is a star in the constellation Centaurus. It has the proper name Muhlifain, not to be confused with Muliphein, which is γ Canis Majoris; both names derive from the same Arabic root....

, τ Centauri

Tau Centauri

Tau Centauri is a star in the constellation Centaurus. It is a white A-type main sequence dwarf with an apparent magnitude of +3.85 and is approximately 131.7 light years from Earth....

, D Centauri

D Centauri

D Centauri is a double star in the constellation Centaurus. The system has a combined apparent magnitude of +5.31 and is approximately 566 light years from Earth....

 and σ Centauri

Sigma Centauri

Sigma Centauri is a star in the constellation Centaurus. σ Centauri is a blue-white B-type main sequence dwarf with an apparent magnitude of +3.91. It is approximately 443 light years from Earth....

. Consequently, ζ Centauri itself is known as

ζ Cen is a spectroscopic binary star with a period of slightly more than eight days and an estimated orbital eccentricity

Orbital eccentricity

The orbital eccentricity of an astronomical body is the amount by which its orbit deviates from a perfect circle, where 0 is perfectly circular, and 1.0 is a parabola, and no longer a closed orbit...

of 0.5.