Star search (Part 1).On December December: see month. 31, 1879, Thomas (language) Thomas - A language compatible with the language Dylan(TM). Thomas is NOT Dylan(TM). The first public release of a translator to Scheme by Matt Birkholz, Jim Miller, and Ron Weiss, written at Digital Equipment Corporation's Cambridge Research Laboratory runs Alva Edison Edison, township (1990 pop. 88,680), Middlesex co., NE N.J., inc. 1870 as Raritan Township, renamed 1954. Edison's varied manufactures include light trucks, chemicals, metal products, electrical and electronic equipment, machinery, and instruments. gave the first public demonstration of electric lighting. Since then, people have flooded the night sky with artificial light--blotting out the view of many stars. On a clear, dark night far from light pollution, stargazers can spot approximately 2,500 celestial points Noun 1. celestial point - a point in the heavens (on the celestial sphere) apex of the sun's way, solar apex, apex - the point on the celestial sphere toward which the sun and solar system appear to be moving relative to the fixed stars of light. But that number dwindles as you approach cities. People living in the suburbs of New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , for example, can only see an estimated 250 stars. Residents of Manhattan Manhattan, indigenous people of North America Manhattan (mănhăt`ən), indigenous people of North America of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). are lucky if they can make out 15. Why are some stars easier to spot than others-despite light pollution? Some stars can outshine out·shine v. out·shone , out·shin·ing, out·shines v.tr. 1. a. To shine brighter than. b. To be more beautiful, splendid, or flamboyant than. 2. artificial light. A star's apparent magnitude apparent magnitude: see magnitude. , or its brightness as seen from Earth, depends on its temperature, size, and distance from Earth. The brighter a star's apparent magnitude is, the lower its measurement number. The sun is the brightest celestial ce·les·tial adj. 1. Of or relating to the sky or the heavens: Planets are celestial bodies. 2. Of or relating to heaven; divine: celestial beings. 3. object as seen from Earth, with an apparent magnitude of -26. The full moon comes in second, with an apparent magnitude of -11. Below is a chart showing the apparent magnitudes of the 10 brightest stars (other than the sun) as seen from Earth. The stars are listed in alphabetical order. Study the chart to complete the activities that follow. ACTIVITY A: Use the chart to answer the following questions in complete sentences. 1. The chart above is in alphabetical order. List the star names in order from brightest to least bright. (Hint: Look at the apparent magnitudes.) 2. In which constellation Constellation, ship Constellation (kŏnstĭlā`shən), U.S. frigate, launched in 1797. It was named by President Washington for the constellation of 15 stars in the U.S. flag of that time. can you find the fifth-brightest star? 3. Objects with a magnitude of 6 or below can be seen by the naked eye. Would a stargazer stargazer, common name for any of several species of marine fishes of the family Uranoscopidae, found in southern waters, and having the mouth, nostrils, and eyes set high in the head. Stargazers lie buried in the sand, waiting for their prey of small crustaceans. need a telescope telescope, traditionally, a system of lenses, mirrors, or both, used to gather light from a distant object and form an image of it. Traditional optical telescopes, which are the subject of this article, also are used to magnify objects on earth and in astronomy; to see any of the stars on the chart? 4. Which constellation contains the star Rigel Rigel (rī`jəl), bright star in the constellation Orion; Bayer designation Beta Orionis; 1992 position R.A. 5h14.2m, Dec. −8°13'. ? 5. Which constellation contains two of the 10 brightest stars as seen from Earth? ANSWERS TO SKILLS PAGES 1. Sirius Sirius (sĭr`ēəs), or Dog Star, brightest star in the sky. It is located in the constellation Canis Major (1992 position R.A. 6h44.8m, Dec. , Canopus, Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri (ăl`fə sĕntôr`ē), brightest star in the constellation Centaurus and 3d-brightest star in the sky; also known as Rigil Kent or Rigil Kentaurus; 1992 position R.A. 14h39.1m, Dec. system, Arcturus, Vega Vega (vā`gə), brightest star in the constellation Lyra; Bayer designation Alpha Lyrae; 1992 position R.A. 18h36.7m, Dec. +38°47'. A white main-sequence star of spectral class A0 V, its apparent magnitude is 0. , Capella system, Rigel, Procyon, Achernar, Betelgeuse 2. The fifth-brightest star is found in the constellation Lyra. 3. No, a stargazer would not need a telescope to see any of the 10 stars featured on the chart. 4. Orion contains the star Rigel. 5. The constellation Orion contains two of the 10 brightest stars as seen from Earth. ACTIVITY B: Match each star in the left column with a fact about the object in the right column. 1. Achernar 2. Alpha Centauri system 3. Arcturus 4. Betelgeuse 5. Canopus 6. Capella system 7. Procyon 8. Rigel 9. Sirius 10. Vega a. It looks very bright because it is just 11.4 light-years away. b. It is a giant star with a diameter 33 times that of the sun. c. It is twice as bright as any other star in the night sky. d. It takes 37 years for its light to reach us. e. It was the first star to be photographed. f. It is a star system made up of several stars. Two of its stars are in the process of dying and will eventually become white dwarfs white dwarf, in astronomy, a type of star that is abnormally faint for its white-hot temperature (see mass-luminosity relation). Typically, a white dwarf star has the mass of the sun and the radius of the earth but does not emit enough light or other radiation to be . g. Of the 10 brightest stars as seen from Earth, it is the hottest star. h. It is visible at latitudes roughly south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania “Pittsburgh” redirects here. For the region, see Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area. Pittsburgh (pronounced IPA: /ˈpɪtsbɚg/) is the second largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. . i. It is a star system made up of three stars bound together by their gravitational grav·i·ta·tion n. 1. Physics a. The natural phenomenon of attraction between physical objects with mass or energy. b. The act or process of moving under the influence of this attraction. 2. pulls. j. Its brightness changes over time. ANSWERS TO SKILLS PAGES 1. g 2. i 3. d 4. j 5. h 6. f 7. a 8. b 9. c 10. e
10 BRIGHTEST STARS AS SEEN FROM EARTH
Apparent
Star Name Constellation Magnitude Did You Know?
Achernar Eridanus 0.45 With a temperature of between
13,726 and 18,726 degrees
Celsius (24,740 and 33,740
degrees Fahrenheit), Achernar
is the hottest star in this
Top-10 list.
Alpha Centaurus -0.27 Alpha Centauri is actually a
Centauri star system made up of three
system stars that are bound together
by their gravitational pulls.
The stars' names: Alpha
Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B,
and Alpha Centauri C.
Arcturus Bootes -0.04 Arcturus is 37 light-years
away. A light-year is the
distance that light travels in
one year. That means it takes
37 years for the light from
Arcturus to reach us.
Betelgeuse Orion 0.5 Betelgeuse is a variable star,
meaning that its brightness
changes over time. If this
massive star were to be
relocated to where the sun is,
it would engulf Mercury,
Venus, Earth, and Mars.
Canopus Carina -0.72 Canopus is visible only at
latitudes below 37 degrees
north, or roughly south of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Canopus is approximately 65
times the size of the sun.
Capella Auriga 0.08 Capella is a star system made
system up of several stars. Two of
its stars are in the process
of dying and will eventually
become white dwarf stars. A
white dwarf is what remains of
a star after its outer layers
have expanded and drifted into
space.
Procyon Canis Minor 0.34 Procyon is only seven times
more luminous than the sun,
but it appears as a very
bright star because it is so
close: just 11.4 light-years
away.
Rigel Orion 0.12 Rigel is a giant star with a
diameter 33 times that of the
sun and 40,000 times as
luminous. Why doesn't it
appear as bright as the sun?
Because it is approximately
775 light-years away.
Sirius Canis Major -1.42 Sirius comes from the Greek
word meaning "scorching." It
is aptly named, since it is
twice as bright as any other
star in the night sky.
Vega Lyra 0.03 Vega was the first star to be
photographed. J.A. Whipple
took the photo on the night of
July 16-17,1850.
|
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion