What is the brightest star in the sky. Stars and planets in the sky. Now. Look! Which constellation is the largest
For the first time, stars in brightness began to be distinguished in the II century BC by the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus. He distinguished 6 degrees in the glow and introduced the concept of stellar magnitude. At the beginning of the 17th century, the German astronomer Johann Bayer introduced the brightness of the stars in the constellations using the letters of the alphabet. The brightest luminaries for the human eye received the name α of such and such a constellation, β - the next in brightness, etc.
The hotter the star, the more light it emits.
Blue stars have the highest luminosity. Less bright whites. Yellow stars have an average luminosity, and red giants are considered the dimmest. The luminosity of a celestial body is a variable value. For example, in, dated July 4, 1054, it tells about a star in the constellation Taurus so bright that it could be seen even during the day. Over time, it began to fade, and after a year it was no longer possible to see it with the naked eye.
Now in the constellation Taurus, you can observe the Crab Nebula - a trail after a supernova explosion. In the center of the nebula, astronomers have discovered a source of powerful radio emission - a pulsar. This is all that remains of the supernova explosion observed in 1054.
The brightest stars in the sky
The brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere are Deneb from the constellation Cygnus and Rigel from the constellation Orion. The luminosity of the Sun exceeds them by 72,500 and 55,000 times, respectively. They are located at a distance of 1600 and 820 light-years from Earth. Another bright star in the Northern Hemisphere, Betelgeuse, is also located in the constellation Orion. It emits 22,000 times more light than the sun.
Most of the brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere can be observed in the constellation Orion.
Sirius of the constellation Big Dog Is the brightest star visible from Earth. It can be seen in the Southern Hemisphere. Sirius is only 22.5 times brighter than the Sun, but the distance to this star by cosmic standards is small - 8.6 light years. The North Star in the constellation Ursa Minor shines like 6,000 Suns, but it is 780 light-years away from us, so it looks fainter than nearby Sirius.
In the constellation Taurus, there is a star with the astronomical name UW CMa. It can only be seen through a telescope. This blue star is distinguished by its gigantic density and small spherical magnitude. It shines 860,000 times brighter than the Sun. This unique celestial body is considered the brightest object in the observable part of the Universe.
People have always admired starry sky... Even in the Stone Age, living in caves and dressing in skins, at night they raised their heads to the firmament and admired the glowing lights.
Today, the stars still grab our gaze. We know very well that the brightest of them is the Sun. But what are the others called? What are the brightest stars besides the Sun?
1. Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. It is not much larger (only 22 times), but due to its proximity to the Earth, it is noticeable better than others. The star can be seen from almost every corner of the globe, except for the northern regions.
In 1862, astronomers discovered that Sirius had a companion star. Both of them revolve around a single center of mass, but only one of them is visible from the Earth - Sirius A. According to scientists, the star is gradually approaching the Sun. Its speed is 7.6 km / s, so it will become even brighter over time.
2. Canopus
Canopus is part of the Carina constellation and is the second brightest after Sirius. It belongs to supergiants, exceeding the Sun by a radius of 65 times.
Among all the stars located at a distance of 700 light-years from Earth, Canopus has the greatest luminosity, however, due to its remoteness, it does not shine as brightly as Sirius. Once upon a time, before the invention of the compass, sailors used it as a guiding star.
3. Toliman
Toliman is also called Alpha Centauri. In fact, it is a binary system with stars A and B, but these stars are so close to each other that they cannot be distinguished with the naked eye. The third brightest in the sky is one of them - Alpha Centauri A.
In the same system, there is another star - Proxima Centauri, but usually it is considered separately, and in terms of brightness it is not even included in the 25 stars with the highest luminosity.
4. Arcturus
Arcturus belongs to the orange giants and shines brighter than other stars included with him. In different regions of the Earth, it can be seen in different time years, but in Russia it is always visible.
According to the observations of astronomers, Arcturus is a variable star, that is, it changes its brightness. Every 8 days, its brightness varies by 0.04 magnitude, which is explained by the pulsation of the surface.
5. Vega
The fifth brightest star is included in the constellation Lyra and is the most studied after the Sun. Vega is located a short distance from Solar system(only 25 light years) and is visible from anywhere on the planet, with the exception of Antarctica and the northern regions North America.
Around Vega is a disk of gas and dust, which, under the influence of its energy, emits infrared rays.
6. Chapel
From an astronomical point of view, the star is interesting for its binary system. Capella is two giant stars 100 million kilometers apart. One of them, called Capella Aa, is old and gradually begins to fade. 
The second - Capella Ab - is still shining brightly enough, but, according to scientists, the processes of helium synthesis have already ended there. Sooner or later, the shells of both stars will expand and touch each other.
7. Crossbar
Rigel's luminosity is 130 thousand times greater than the Sun. It is one of the most powerful stars in the Milky Way, but due to its distance from the solar system (773 light years), it is only the seventh brightest.
Like Arcturus, Rigel is considered a variable star and changes in brightness with an interval of 22 to 25 days.
8. Procyon
Procyon is only 11.4 light years distant from Earth. Its system includes two stars - Procyon A (bright) and Procyon B (dim). The first is a yellow subgiant and shines about 7.5 times brighter than the Sun. Due to its age, over time, it will begin to expand and will shine much better.
It is believed that sooner or later it will increase 150 times its actual size, and then turn orange or red.
9. Achernar
In the list of the 10 brightest stars in the sky, Achernar ranks only ninth, but at the same time it is the hottest and bluest. The star is located in the constellation Eridani and shines 3000 times brighter than the Sun.
An interesting feature of Achernar is a very fast rotation around its axis, as a result of which it has an elongated shape.
10. Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse has a maximum luminosity of 105 thousand times that of the Sun, but it is located about 640 light-years from the solar system, so it is not as bright as the previous nine stars. 
Due to the fact that the brightness of Betelgeuse gradually decreases from the center to the surface, scientists still cannot calculate its diameter.
Not everyone knows the names of the stars and constellations, but many have heard the most popular of them.
Expressive star groups are called constellations, and there is a special magic in the names of the stars and constellations.
The information that tens of thousands of years ago, even before the emergence of the first civilizations, people began to give them names - no one doubts. Space is filled with heroes and monsters from legends, and the sky of our northern latitudes is mainly inhabited by characters from the Greek epic.
Photos of constellations in the sky and their names
48 ancient constellations are the decoration of the celestial sphere. A legend is associated with each. And it is not surprising - the stars played a big role in people's lives. Navigation, large-scale agriculture would be impossible without a good knowledge of heavenly bodies.
Of all the constellations, the non-setting ones stand out, located at 40 degrees of latitude or higher. Inhabitants of the northern hemisphere always see them, regardless of the season.
5 major non-setting constellations alphabetically - The Dragon, Cassiopeia, Ursa Major and Minor, Cepheus ... They are visible all year round, especially in the south of Russia. Although at northern latitudes the circle of non-setting stars is wider.
It is significant that the objects of the constellations are not necessarily located nearby. To a terrestrial observer, the surface of the sky looks flat, but in fact, some stars are much farther than others. Therefore, it would be wrong to write “the ship made a jump into the constellation Microscope” (there is such a thing in the southern hemisphere). "The ship can make a jump towards the Microscope" - so it will be correct.
The brightest star in the sky
The brightest is Sirius in the Big Dog. At our northern latitudes, it is visible only in winter. One of the largest cosmic bodies closest to the sun, its light flies to us for only 8.6 years.
The Sumerians and ancient Egyptians had the status of a deity. 3,000 years ago, the Egyptian priests, from the ascent of Sirius, accurately determined the time of the flood of the Nile.
Sirius is a double star. The visible component (Sirius A) is about 2 times more massive than the Sun and shines 25 times stronger. Sirius B is a white dwarf with a mass almost like that of the sun, with a brightness of a quarter of the sun.
Sirius B is arguably the most massive white dwarf known to astronomers. Ordinary dwarfs of this class are twice as light.
Arcturus in Bootes is the brightest in the northern latitudes and is one of the most unusual luminaries. Age - 7.3 billion years, almost half the age of the universe. With a mass approximately equal to that of the sun, it is 25 times larger, since it consists of the lightest elements - hydrogen, helium. Apparently, when Arcturus was forming, there were not so many metals and other heavy elements in the universe.
Like a king in exile, Arcturus moves through space surrounded by a retinue of 52 smaller stars. Perhaps they are all part of a galaxy that was swallowed up by our Milky Way a very, very long time ago.
Arcturus is almost 37 light years away - also not so far away, on a cosmic scale. It belongs to the class of red giants and shines 110 times stronger than the Sun. The picture shows the comparative sizes of Arcturus and the Sun.
Star names by color
The color of a star depends on temperature, while temperature depends on mass and age. The hottest are young massive blue giants, with surface temperatures reaching 60,000 Kelvin and mass up to 60 solar masses. The stars of class B are not much inferior, the brightest representative of which is Spica, the alpha of the constellation Virgo.
The coldest are small, old red dwarfs. On average, the surface temperature is 2-3 thousand Kelvin, and the mass is a third of that of the sun. The diagram clearly shows how the color depends on the size.
By temperature and color, stars are divided into 7 spectral classes, indicated in the astronomical description of the object in Latin letters.
Beautiful names of stars
The language of modern astronomy is dry and practical; among atlases you will not find stars with names. But ancient people named the brightest and most important night lights. Most of the names are of Arabic origin, but there are also those rooted in hoary antiquity, to the times of the ancient Akkads and Sumerians.
Polar... Dim, the last in the handle of the Ursa Minor's bucket, a guiding sign of all sailors of antiquity. The polar one hardly moves and always points to the north. Every nation in the northern hemisphere has a name for her. "Iron stake" of the ancient Finns, "Tied horse" of the Khakas, "Hole in the sky" of the Evenks. The ancient Greeks, famous travelers and sailors, called the polar "Kinosura", which translates as "dog's tail".
Sirius... The name, apparently, came from ancient Egypt, where the star was associated with the hypostasis of the goddess Isis. V ancient Rome was named Vacation, and our "vacation" comes straight from this word. The fact is that Sirius appeared in Rome at dawn, in summer, in the days of the greatest heat, when the life of the city froze.
Aldebaran. In its movement it always follows the Pleiades cluster. In Arabic it means "follower". The Greeks and Romans called Aldebaran “The Eye of the Calf”.
The Pioneer 10 probe, launched in 1972, is heading towards Aldebaran. Estimated time of arrival is 2 million years.
Vega. Arab astronomers called her "Falling Eagle" (An nahr Al wagi) From the distorted "wagi", that is, "falling", the name Vega originated. In ancient Rome, the day it crossed the horizon before sunrise was considered the last day of summer.
Vega was the first star (after the Sun) to be photographed. It happened almost 200 years ago in 1850, at the Oxford Observatory.
Betelgeuse. Arabic designation - Yad Al Juza (twin hand). In the Middle Ages, due to confusion in translation, the word was read as "Bel Juza", and there was "Betelgeuse".
The star is loved by science fiction writers. One of the characters in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comes from a small planet in the Betelgeuse system.
Fomalhaut... Alpha Southern Fish. In Arabic - "Fish Mouth". 18th brightest night star. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of the veneration of Fomalhaut as far back as the prehistoric period, 2.5 thousand years ago.
Canopus... One of the few stars whose name does not have Arabic roots. According to the Greek version, the word goes back to Canopus, the helm of King Menelaus.
The planet Arrakis, from the famous series of books by F. Herbert, revolves around Canopus.
How many constellations are in the sky
As it was found out, people united stars into groups 15000 years ago. In the first written sources, i.e. 2 millennia ago, 48 constellations are described. They are still in the sky, only the big Argo no longer exists - it was divided into 4 smaller ones - Stern, Sail, Keel and Compass.
Thanks to the development of navigation, new constellations began to appear in the 15th century. Bizarre figures adorn the sky - Peacock, Telescope, Indian. The exact year is known when the last of them appeared - 1763.
At the beginning of the last century, a general revision of the constellations took place. Astronomers have counted 88 star groups - 28 in the northern hemisphere and 45 in the southern. The 13 constellations of the zodiacal belt stand apart. And this is the final result, astronomers are not planning to add new ones.
Constellations of the Northern Hemisphere - list with pictures
Unfortunately, you cannot see all 28 constellations in one night, celestial mechanics are inexorable. But in return we have a pleasant variety. Winter and summer skies look different.
Let's talk about the most interesting and noticeable constellations.
Big Dipper- the main landmark of the night sky. It makes it easy to find other astronomical objects.
Tail tip Ursa Minor- the famous Polar Star. Celestial bears have long tails, unlike terrestrial relatives.
The Dragon- a large constellation between the Bears. It is impossible not to mention μ Dragon which is called Arrakis, which in translation from ancient Arabic means "dancer". Kuma (ν Dragon) - double, which is observed with ordinary binoculars.
It is known that ρ Cassiopeia - supergiant, it is hundreds of thousands of times brighter than the Sun. In 1572, the last explosion to date occurred in Cassiopeia.
The ancient Greeks did not come to a consensus, whose it is Lyra. Different legends give it to different heroes - Apollo, Orpheus or Orion. The infamous Vega enters Lyra.
Orion- the most noticeable astronomical formation in our sky. The large stars of Orion's belt are called the Three Kings or Magi. The famous Betelgeuse is located here.
Cepheus can be observed all year round. In 8,000 years, one of its stars, Alderamin, will become a new pole star.
V Andromeda lies the nebula M31. It is a nearby galaxy visible to the naked eye on a clear night. The Andromeda Nebula is 2 million light years distant from us.
Nicely named constellation Veronica's hair owes to the Egyptian queens, who sacrificed their hair to the gods. In the direction of Coma's Hair is the north pole of our galaxy.
Alpha Bootes- the famous Arcturus. Beyond Bootes, at the very edge of the observable universe, lies the galaxy Egsy8p7. It is one of the most distant objects known to astronomers - 13.2 billion light years away.
Constellations for kids - all the fun
Curious young astronomers will be interested in learning about the constellations and seeing them in the sky. Parents can arrange a night excursion for their children, talking about the amazing science of astronomy and seeing some of the constellations with their own eyes with the children. These short and understandable stories will surely appeal to little explorers.
Ursa Major and Ursa Minor
V ancient greece the gods turned everyone into beasts, and threw anyone into the sky. That was the way they were. Once the wife of Zeus turned a nymph named Callisto into a bear. And the nymph had a little son who knew nothing about the fact that his mother had become a bear.
When the son grew up, he became a hunter and went to the forest with a bow and arrow. And it so happened that a mother bear met him. When the hunter raised his bow and fired, Zeus stopped time and threw everyone together - the bear, the hunter and the arrow into the sky.
Since then, the Big Dipper has been walking across the sky with the little one, into which the son-hunter has turned. And the arrow in the sky also remained, only it will never get anywhere - such is the order in the sky.
Ursa Major is always easy to find in the sky, it looks like a large bucket with a handle. And if you find the Big Dipper, then Malaya is walking nearby. And although Ursa Minor is not so noticeable, there is a way to find it: the two extreme stars in the bucket will indicate the exact direction to the polar star - this is the tail of the Ursa Minor.
polar Star
All the stars are spinning slowly, only Polar is standing still. She always points to the north, for this she is called a guiding line.
In ancient times, people sailed on ships with large sails, but no compass. And when the ship is on the high seas and the shores are not visible, you can easily get lost.
When this happened, the experienced captain waited for the night to see the Pole Star and find a northern direction. And knowing the direction to the north, you can easily determine where the rest of the world is, and where to sail to bring the ship to its home port.
The Dragon
Among the night lights, a star dragon lives in the sky. According to legend, the dragon participated in the wars of the gods and titans, at the very dawn of time. The goddess of war, Athena, in the heat of battle, took and threw a huge dragon into the sky, just between the Big Dipper and Malaya.
The dragon is a large constellation: 4 stars form its head, 14 - its tail. Its stars are not very bright. It must be because the Dragon is already old. After all, a long time has passed since the dawn of time, even for the Dragon.
Orion
Orion was the son of Zeus. In his life, he accomplished many feats, became famous as a great hunter, became a favorite of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Orion liked to boast of strength and luck, but one day he was stung by a scorpion. Artemis rushed to Zeus and asked to save her pet. Zeus threw Orion into the sky, where the great hero of ancient Greece still lives.
Orion is the most remarkable constellation in the northern sky. It is large and consists of bright stars. In winter, Orion is fully visible and easy to find: look for a large hourglass with three bright bluish stars in the middle. These stars are called Orion's belt, and their names are Alnitak (left), Alnilam (middle) and Mintak (right).
Knowing Orion, it is easier to navigate in other constellations and find stars.
Sirius
Knowing the position of Orion, one can easily find the famous Sirius. You need to draw a line to the right of Orion's belt. Just look for the brightest star. It is important to remember that it is visible in the northern sky only in winter.
Sirius is the brightest in the sky. Included in the constellation Canis Major, Orion's faithful companion.
There are actually two stars in Sirius circling each other. One star is hot and bright, we see its light. And the other half is so dim that you can't see it through an ordinary telescope. But once upon a time, many millions of years ago, these parts were one huge whole. If we lived in those days, Sirius would shine for us 20 times stronger!
Q&A rubric
Which star's name means "brilliant, sparkling"?
- Sirius. It is so bright that it can be seen even during the day.
What constellations can be seen with the naked eye?
- Everything is possible. Constellations were invented by ancient people, long before the invention of the telescope. In addition, without having a telescope with you, you can even see planets, for example, Venus, Mercury, etc.
Which constellation is the largest?
- Hydras. It is so long that it does not fit entirely in the northern sky and goes beyond the southern horizon. The extent of Hydra is almost a quarter of the horizon's circumference.
What is the smallest constellation?
- The smallest, but at the same time the brightest is the Southern Cross. It is located in the southern hemisphere.
What constellation does the Sun enter?
The earth revolves around the sun, and we see how in a year it passes through as many as 12 constellations, one for each month. They are called the Zodiac Belt.
Conclusion
The stars have fascinated people for a long time. And although the development of astronomy allows us to look further and further into the depths of space, the charm of the ancient names of stars does not go anywhere.
When we look into the night sky, we see the past, ancient myths and legends, and the future - after all, one day people will go to the stars.
The night sky amazes with its beauty and countless number of heavenly fireflies. It is especially fascinating that their arrangement is structured, as if they were specially arranged in the right order, forming star systems. From ancient times, learned astrologers tried to count all these myriads of heavenly bodies and give them names. Today, a huge number of stars have been discovered in the sky, but this is just a small part of all existing immense Universe. Consider what constellations and luminaries are.
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Stars and their classification
A star is a celestial body that emits a huge amount of light and heat.
It consists mainly of helium (lat. Helium), as well as (lat. Hydrogenium).
The heavenly body is in a state of balance due to the pressure inside the body itself and its own.
Heat and light radiates as a result of thermonuclear reactions, occurring inside the body.
What are the types depending on life cycle and structure:
- Main sequence. This is the main life cycle of a luminary. This is exactly what it is, as well as the vast majority of others.
- Brown dwarf. A relatively small, dull object with a low temperature. The first such was opened in 1995.
- White dwarf. At the end of its life cycle, the ball begins to contract until its density balances out gravity. Then it goes out and cools down.
- Red giant. A huge body that emits a large amount of light, but not very hot (up to 5000 K).
- New. New stars do not light up, just old ones flare up with renewed vigor.
- Supernova. This is the same new one with a lot of light emission.
- Hypernova. It is a supernova, but much larger.
- Bright blue variables (LBV). The biggest ones as well as the hottest ones.
- Ultra X-ray sources (ULX). They give off a large amount of radiation.
- Neutron. It is characterized by fast rotation and strong magnetic field.
- Unique. Double, with different sizes.
Species dependent from the spectrum:
- Blue.
- White and blue.
- White.
- Yellow-white.
- Yellow.
- Orange.
- Red.
Important! Most of the stars in the sky are entire systems. What we see as one can actually be two, three, five and even hundreds of bodies of one system.
Names of stars and constellations
At all times, the stars have fascinated. They became the object of study, both from the mystical side (astrology, alchemy) and from the scientific side (astronomy). People searched for them, calculated, counted, put them into constellations, as well as d avali them names... Constellations are clusters of celestial bodies arranged in a specific sequence.
In the sky certain conditions up to 6 thousand stars can be seen from different points. They have their own scientific names, but about three hundred of them also have personal names that have been received since ancient times. The stars are predominantly Arabic names.
The fact is that when astronomy was actively developing everywhere, the Western world experienced “ dark ages", Therefore, its development has lagged significantly behind. Here Mesopotamia succeeded most of all, China least of all.
The Arabs not only discovered new ones, but also renamed the heavenly bodies, who already had a Latin or Greek name. They went down in history with Arabic names. The constellations, however, mainly had Latin names.
Brightness depends on the light emitted, size and distance from us. The brightest star is the Sun. It is not the biggest, not the brightest, but closest to us.
The most beautiful luminaries with the greatest brightness. The first among them:
- Sirius (Alpha Canis Major);
- Canopus (Alpha Carina);
- Toliman (Alpha Centauri);
- Arcturus (Alpha Bootes);
- Vega (Alpha Lyrae).
Naming periods
Conventionally, several periods can be distinguished in which people gave names to heavenly bodies.
Pre-antique period
Since ancient times, people have tried to "understand" the sky, and gave names to the night luminaries. No more than 20 names from those times have come down to us. Scientists from Babylon, Egypt, Israel, Assyria and Mesopotamia actively worked here.
Greek period
The Greeks did not particularly delve into astronomy. They gave names to only a small number of luminaries. Mostly, they took names from the names of the constellations or simply ascribed pre-existing names. All the astronomical knowledge of ancient Greece, as well as Babylon, was collected Greek scientist Ptolemy Claudius(I-II century) in the works "Almagest" and "Tetrabiblos".
Almagest (Great Construction) is the work of Ptolemy in thirteen books, where he, based on the work of Hipparchus of Nicea (c. 140 BC), tries to explain the structure of the Universe. He also lists the names of some of the brightest constellations.
Table of heavenly bodies described in the Almagest
| Name of stars | Constellation name | Description, location |
| Sirius | Big dog | Located in the mouth of the constellation. It is also called the Dog. The brightest of the night sky. |
| Procyon | Small dog | On the hind legs. |
| Arcturus | Bootes | Did not enter the form of Bootes. Located below it. |
| Regulus | a lion | Located in the heart of Leo. Also referred to as Tsarskaya. |
| Spica | Virgo | On the left hand. Has another name - Kolos. |
| Antares | Scorpion | Located in the middle. |
| Vega | Lyre | Found on the sink. Another name for Alpha Lira. |
| Chapel | Auriga | Left shoulder. It is also called the Goat. |
| Canopus | Argo ship | On the keel of the ship. |
Tetrabiblos is another work of Ptolemy Claudius in four books. The list of celestial bodies is supplemented here.
Roman period
The Roman Empire studied astronomy, but when this science began to actively develop, Rome fell. And behind the state, his science fell into decay. Nevertheless, about a hundred stars have Latin names, although this does not guarantee that they were given names their scientists are from Rome.
Arabic period
The work of Ptolemy Almagest was fundamental in the study of astronomy among the Arabs. They translated most of them into Arabic. Based on the religious beliefs of the Arabs, they changed the names of parts of the luminaries. Often names were given, based on the location of the body in the constellation. So, many of them have names or parts of names meaning a neck, a leg or a tail.
Arabic Names Table
| Arabic name | Meaning | Stars with Arabic names | Constellation |
| Ras | Head | Alpha Hercules | Hercules |
| Algenib | Side | Alpha Perseus, Gamma Perseus | Perseus |
| Menkib | Shoulder | Alpha Orion, Alpha Pegasus, Beta Pegasus, Beta Charioteer, Zeta Perseus, Fita Centauri |
Pegasus, Perseus, Orion, Centaurus, Charioteer |
| Rigel | Leg | Alpha Centauri, Beta Orion, Mu Virgo | Centaurus, Orion, Virgo |
| Rukba | Knee | Alpha Sagittarius, Delta Cassiopeia, Upsilon Cassiopeia, Omega Swan | Sagittarius, Cassiopeia, Swan |
| Sheat | Shin | Beta Pegasus, Delta Aquarius | Pegasus, Aquarius |
| Mirfak | Elbow | Alpha Perseus, Capa Hercules, Lambda Ophiuchus, Fita and Mu Cassiopeia | Perseus, Ophiuchus, Cassiopeia, Hercules |
| Menkar | Nose | Alpha Kita, Lambda Kita, Upsilon Raven | Keith, Raven |
| Markab | What moves | Alpha Pegasus, Tau Pegasus, Capa Sails | Ship Argo, Pegasus |
Renaissance
Since the 16th century in Europe, antiquity has been reviving, and with it science. The Arabic names did not change, but Arab-Latin hybrids often appeared.
New clusters of celestial bodies practically did not open, but the old ones were supplemented by new objects. A significant event of that time was the release of the atlas of the starry sky "Uranometria".
It was compiled by amateur astronomer Johann Bayer (1603). On the atlas, he applied an artistic image of the constellations.
And most importantly, he suggested the principle of naming the luminaries with the addition of letters Greek alphabet... The brightest body of the constellation will be called "Alpha", the less bright "Beta" and so on until "Omega". For example, the brightest star in Scorpio is Alpha Scorpio, the less bright Beta Scorpio, then Gamma Scorpio, etc.
Nowadays
With the advent of powerful ones, they began to discover a huge number of luminaries. Now they are not given beautiful names, but simply assigned an index with a digital and alphabetic code. But it happens that celestial bodies are given nominal names. They are called names scientist discoverers, and now you can even buy the opportunity to name the luminary at will.
Important! The sun is not part of any constellation.
What are the constellations
Initially, the figures were figures formed by bright lights. Now scientists use them as landmarks of the celestial sphere.
The most famous constellations alphabetically:
- Andromeda. Located in the northern hemisphere of the celestial sphere.
- Twins. The luminaries with the greatest brightness are Pollux and Castor. Zodiac sign.
- Big Dipper. Seven stars forming a bucket image.
- Big Dog. Has the brightest star in the sky - Sirius.
- Scales. Zodiacal, consisting of 83 objects.
- Aquarius. Zodiacal, with asterism forming a jug.
- Auriga. Its most outstanding object is the Capella.
- Wolf. Located in the southern hemisphere.
- Bootes. The brightest luminary is Arcturus.
- Veronica's hair. Consists of 64 visible objects.
- Crow. Best seen at mid-latitudes.
- Hercules. There are 235 visible objects.
- Hydra. The most important luminary is Alphard.
- Pigeon. 71 body of the southern hemisphere.
- Hounds Dogs. 57 visible objects.
- Virgo. Zodiacal, with the brightest body - Spica.
- Dolphin. It can be seen everywhere except Antarctica.
- The Dragon. Northern Hemisphere, practically a pole.
- Unicorn. Located on the milky way.
- Altar. 60 visible stars.
- Painter. There are 49 objects.
- Giraffe. Faintly visible in the northern hemisphere.
- Crane. The brightest is Alnair.
- Hare. 72 celestial bodies.
- Ophiuchus. 13th zodiac sign, but not included in this list.
- Snake. 106 luminaries.
- Golden Fish. 32 objects visible to the naked eye.
- Indian. Faintly visible constellation.
- Cassiopeia. Similar in shape to the letter "W".
- Keel. 206 objects.
- Whale. Located in the "water" zone of the sky.
- Capricorn. Zodiacal, southern hemisphere.
- Compass. 43 visible luminaries.
- Stern. Located on the milky way.
- Swan. Located in the northern part.
- A lion. Zodiacal, northern part.
- Flying fish. 31 objects.
- Lyra. The brightest luminary is Vega.
- Chanterelle. Dull.
- Ursa Minor. Located above the North Pole. It has the North Star.
- Small Horse. 14 luminaries.
- Small Dog. A bright constellation.
- Microscope. Southern part.
- Fly. At the equator.
- Pump. Southern sky.
- The corner. Passes through the Milky Way.
- Aries. The zodiac, which has the bodies of Mesarthim, Hamal and Sheratan.
- Octant. At the south pole.
- Eagle. At the equator.
- Orion. Has a bright object - Rigel.
- Peacock. Southern Hemisphere.
- Sail. 195 luminaries of the southern hemisphere.
- Pegasus. South of Andromeda. Its brightest stars are Markab and Enif.
- Perseus. Discovered by Ptolemy. The first object is Mirfak.
- Bake. Almost invisible.
- Paradise Bird. Located near the South Pole.
- Crayfish. Zodiacal, faintly visible.
- Cutter. Southern part.
- Fishes. A large constellation divided into two parts.
- Lynx. 92 visible luminaries.
- Northern Crown. The shape of the crown.
- Sextant. At the equator.
- Net. Consists of 22 properties.
- Scorpion. The first luminary is Antares.
- Sculptor. 55 celestial bodies.
- Sagittarius. Zodiacal.
- Taurus. Zodiacal. Aldebaran is the brightest object.
- Triangle. 25 stars.
- Toucan. The Small Magellanic Cloud is located here.
- Phoenix. 63 luminaries.
- Chameleon. Small and dull.
- Centaurus. Its brightest star for us, Proxima Centauri, is the closest to the Sun.
- Cepheus. Has the shape of a triangle.
- Compass. Near Alpha Centauri.
- Clock. It has an elongated shape.
- Shield. Near the equator.
- Eridanus. Large constellation.
- Southern Hydra. 32 celestial bodies.
- South Crown. Faintly visible.
- Southern Fish. 43 objects.
- South Cross. In the form of a cross.
- Southern Triangle. Has the shape of a triangle.
- Lizard. No bright objects.
What are the constellations of the zodiac
Zodiac signs - constellations through which passes the Earth throughout the year, forming a conditional ring around the system. Interestingly, 12 signs of the zodiac are accepted, although Ophiuchus, which is not considered to be the zodiac, is also located on this ring.
Attention! There are no constellations.
By and large, there are no figures at all, composed of celestial bodies.
After all, we, looking at the sky, perceive it as plane in two dimensions, but the luminaries are not located on a plane, but in space, at a huge distance from each other.
They do not form any pattern.
Let's say the light from the closest to the Sun Proxima Centauri reaches us in almost 4.3 years.
And from another object of the same star system, Omega Centauri - reaches the earth in 16 thousand years. All divisions are rather arbitrary.
Constellations and stars - sky map, interesting facts
Names of stars and constellations
Conclusion
It is impossible to calculate the reliable number of celestial bodies in the Universe. You can't even get close to the exact number. The stars are merging into galaxies. Our Milky Way galaxy alone numbers about 100,000,000,000. From Earth with the help of the most powerful telescopes about 55,000,000,000 galaxies can be found. With the advent of the Hubble Telescope, which is in Earth's orbit, scientists have discovered about 125 million galaxies, and each has billions, hundreds of billions of objects. It is only clear that there were no less than a trillion trillion luminaries in the Universe, but this is only a small part of what is real.
In the evening sky, of the planets with the naked eye, only VENUS(m = - 4.3 )* .
VENUS first among the stars appears in the sky after sunset and becomes brighter with the onset of night! Venus has excellent evening visibility in March. On March 25, it will be in the greatest eastern elongation - at the maximum angular distance from the Sun - 46 degrees and the duration of its visibility at the end of the month will be 5 hours! At the beginning of the month, it sets in at half past eleven at night, at the end - at about one in the morning. Moves around the constellation Aries.
At the end of the month (March 27-29), if the sky is clear, in the evening you can admire the brightest luminaries of the night sky: above the western horizon, not so far from each other will be visible bright venus and the sickle of the young moon.
* The magnitude (m), which characterizes the brightness, is indicated in parentheses: the brighter the star or planet, the lower the magnitude.
CONSTELLATIONS IN THE EVENING SKY
In the south, not high above the horizon, shines the brightest star in our sky - Sirius(-1.4m) from the constellation Big Dog... The constellation Orion is visible above it on the right, it is outlined by bright stars: Betelgeuse * (+ 0.5m)., Bellatrix(+ 1.6m), Saif(+ 2.1m) and Rigel(+ 0.2m). To the left and above Orion is the constellation Gemini, whose bright stars are named after two twin brothers: Castor(+ 1.6m) and Pollux(+ 1.2m).
A bright star is visible below Gemini Procyon(+ 0.4m) from the constellation Little Dog... Procyon, Betelgeuse and Sirius form the "winter triangle". Close to the zenith, a bright Chapel from the constellation Charioteer.
View of the starry sky above the southern horizon on March 15 at 20:30
* - Betelgeuse(+ 0.5m) - astronomers around the world are now closely observing this star - it very rapidly lost its brightness. It is the second brightest star in the constellation Orion and it ranked 10th in apparent brightness among other stars, now Betelgeuse is in 24th place. The brightness of the star began to decrease in October 2019 and at the beginning of February 2020 reached a minimum value of + 1.66m (stellar magnitude). Observations show that in last days Betelgeuse stopped fading and on February 22, its brightness increased to + 1.52m (the brighter the star, the lower its magnitude, which characterizes the brightness). Such fluctuations in the brightness of the star are most likely associated with its variability.
Betelgeuse is a massive red supergiant and belongs to variable, pulsating stars with a period of 420-430 days. In the past few years, the increased interest in Betelgeuse was also caused by the fact that this star is a supernova candidate, i.e. should explode. It is difficult to predict when this explosion will occur.
Interestingly, Betelgeuse was the first star for which photographs of the disc were obtained. The first photograph was taken by the Hubble Orbiting Telescope in 1995.
This image shows the star Betelgeuse before and after it is darkened.
Observations made with the SPHERE instrument on the ESO's Very Large Telescope
in January and December 2019, show how much the star has gone out and how its apparent shape has changed
Above the eastern horizon, the "spring" constellations rise into the sky: Bootes with bright Arcturus, Veronica's hair, a lion with its bright star Regulus... And above is visible Big Bucket constellations Big Dipper , his "handle" is lowered to the horizon.
View of the starry sky above the eastern horizon on March 15 at 20:30
In the west are leaning towards the horizon of the constellations Pisces, Whale, Pegasus, Andromeda, Aries with bright Venus and the Triangle .
View of the starry sky above the western horizon on March 15 at 20:30
In the north, low above the horizon, bright stars of the summer sky are visible: Deneb from Swan and the very horizon is bright Veg a from Lyre... Above is the constellation Dragon(with its main star Etamin) and Cephei... Above the north point "hangs" Polar constellation star Ursa Minor.
