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Star Names: Where Do They Come From and What Do They Mean?
Everyone who starts out in astronomy faces a bewildering variety of numbers and letters denoting the great works of creation. Sometimes the nomenclature almost seems designed to confuse. Anyone can...
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The Stellar Magnitude System
Sky & Telescope Most ways of counting and measuring things work logically. When the thing that you're measuring increases, the number gets bigger. When you gain weight, after all, the scale...
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Why Do Stars Twinkle?
Why do stars twinkle? Why stars twinkle Tom Callen / Cosmonova Though it wouldn’t work so well in the nursery rhyme, a there is actually a technical term for when stars twinkle: astronomical...
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What Is a Star?
What is a star? Photo of the Sun, our nearest star. EIT - SOHO Consortium / ESA / NASA We're all pretty familiar with stars. We see them on most clear nights as tiny, twinkling pinpricks of light in...
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How Do Stars Die and How Long Do Stars Live?
How Long Do Stars Live? A star’s life expectancy depends on its mass. Generally, the more massive the star, the faster it burns up its fuel supply, and the shorter its life. The most massive stars can...
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What is the brightest star in the sky?
Sirius A and B. NASA / ESA / G. Bacon (STScI) The brightest star in the sky is Sirius, also known as the “Dog Star” or, more officially, Alpha Canis Majoris, for its position in the constellation Canis...
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How Many Stars are There in the Universe?
The band of the Milky Way across the night sky. Our Sun is only one of a 100 billion stars in our galaxy.Serge Brunier When asking the question "How many stars are there in the universe?" it's...
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What are constellations?
Since ancient times, civilizations have assigned constellations based on conspicuous patterns of stars in the night sky. These patterns were useful for astrological predictions, navigation, as well as...
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How Far is the Closest Star?
Hubble image of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun.NASA The simple answer is that the Sun is the closest star to Earth, about 93 million miles away, but that might not answer your question....
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9,096 Stars in the Sky—Is That All?
Ten thousand stars bedazzle the eye on a dark night. Wait, how many stars in the sky? How many stars in the sky can you see? Bob King Go out on a dark night and you'd swear there are thousands of stars...
View ArticleStar Names: Where Do They Come From and What Do They Mean?
Confused by the bizarre names that astronomers have given the stars? Here's where they come from and what they mean. The post Star Names: Where Do They Come From and What Do They Mean? appeared first...
View ArticleWhy Do Stars Twinkle?
Though it wouldn’t work so well in the nursery rhyme, a star’s twinkling actually has a technical term, astronomical scintillation: the effect of our planet’s atmosphere on starlight. The post Why Do...
View ArticleWhat Is a Star?
A star is a luminous ball of gas held together by its own gravity. Nuclear fusion in its core supports the star against gravity and produces photons and heat. The Sun is the closest star to Earth. The...
View ArticleHow Do Stars Die and How Long Do Stars Live?
Both the life and death of a star depend on its mass. Generally speaking, the more massive a star, the faster it burns its fuel and the shorter its life. The most massive stars meet their end in a...
View ArticleWhat is the brightest star in the sky?
The brightest star in the sky is Sirius, also known as the “Dog Star” or, more officially, Alpha Canis Majoris, for its position in the constellation Canis Major. The post What is the brightest star in...
View ArticleHow Many Stars are There in the Universe?
By measuring the number and luminosity of observable galaxies, astronomers put current estimates of the total stellar population of the observable universe at roughly 70 billion trillion. The post How...
View ArticleWhat are constellations?
In 1930, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) divided the sky into 88 constellations. Each constellation is defined by an imaginary boundary on the sky and named after a classical star pattern...
View ArticleHow Far is the Closest Star?
Barring the Sun, the closest star to Earth is a triple system called Alpha Centauri, which is over four light years away. The post How Far is the Closest Star? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
View Article9,096 Stars in the Sky—Is That All?
Ten thousand stars bedazzle the eye on a dark night. Wait, how many? The post 9,096 Stars in the Sky—Is That All? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
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