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Constellations
Constellations have fascinated astronomers for centuries. They are arbitrary formations of stars perceived as a figure or design, especially one of 88 recognized groups named after characters from classical mythology and various common animals and objects. Questions about the various constellations of stars are what this category is all about.
3,677 Questions
Megrez is a star in the constellation Ursa Major and is classified as a main sequence star with a spectral type of A3. Its estimated size is about 1.7 times the radius of the Sun.
Why are constellations in different places in the sky?
The constellations are in the same place every night. Their placement is perfectly timed with the earth's rotation on a twenty-four hour cycle. BUT the earth changes the time of day by about 18 minutes every day. As the earth goes around the sun the position of the sun changes in the sky. So after six months night-time is now twelve hours behind where it was before and you are looking at the other side of the sky. Check-out sidereal day.
The constellation that contains the Big Dipper is Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear. To find the star Arcturus, you can follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper and it will lead you to this bright, orange giant star in the constellation Boötes.
What is the magnitude of beta herculis?
The apparent visual magnitude of Beta Herculis is 2.81. It has been known since 1899 that it is in fact a binary star, and modern measurements (including satellite telescope) have resolved the motions and apparent sizes of the two bodies.
What do all circumpolar constellations have in common?
Northern circumpolar constellations revolve around the north celestial pole in a counterclockwise manner. They never seem to rise or set, in regards to the horizon. Every 24 hours they seem to complete a revolution around Polaris, the North Star. Because the Earth is a sphere, the number of circumpolar constellations that one sees depends on one's location from the North Pole. At the North Pole, every constellation in the night sky is circumpolar. Below the equator, one cannot see a single circumpolar constellation.
These are the common circumpolar constellations of 40-50 degrees N latitude:
Ursa Major
Ursa Minor
Cassiopeia
Cepheus
Draco
What constellation can you see from Rutland MA?
From Rutland, Massachusetts, you should be able to see various constellations throughout the year, including popular ones like Orion, Ursa Major (home to the Big Dipper), and Cassiopeia. The visibility of constellations will depend on factors like light pollution and time of year.
Earths distance from the big dipper?
Around 90 light years away. There is no exact answer because the stars that make up the big dipper are different distances from the sun.
Name and distance of the stars that make up the Big Dipper.
Mizar 78 light years
Merak 79 light years
Megrez 81 light years
Alioth 81 light years
Phecda 84 light years
Alkaid 101 light years
Dubhe 124 light years
What is the constellation Centaurus named after?
The mythical creature the Centaur, half horse half man.Centaurus has traditionally been identified as a centaur, a mythological creature, half man, half horse. According to the Roman poet Ovid the constellation honors the centaur Chiron, who was tutor to many of the earlier Greek heroes including Heracles (Hercules), Theseus, and Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. However, most authorities consider Sagittarius to be the civilized Chiron, while Centaurus represents a more uncouth member of the species.
That is the idea that at some very early stage of its development (a fraction of a second after the Big Bang), the Universe expanded extremely fast.
That is the idea that at some very early stage of its development (a fraction of a second after the Big Bang), the Universe expanded extremely fast.
That is the idea that at some very early stage of its development (a fraction of a second after the Big Bang), the Universe expanded extremely fast.
That is the idea that at some very early stage of its development (a fraction of a second after the Big Bang), the Universe expanded extremely fast.
Ursa Minor is a star constellation. As such, one cannot think of it in terms of how far it is from earth because the stars that make up the constellation are not located in the same area of space.
Why is the constellation Taurus the bull only visible in November not in May?
The Sun can not reveal a constellation that it is transiting through. If the Sun is actually in Taurus, this would be during the day time and the constellation would not be visible. At night the Sun is on the opposite side of the zodiac so the opposite sign (Scorpio) would be visible in the night sky.
Why do all of the stars in a constellation appear closer together?
In most cases stars in constellations only appear close to one another because they are in the same direction in the sky even tho they may be 100's of light years apart.
The classic example is the constellation of Centaurus. Alpha Centauri is only 4.3 light years away where as it's "close neighbour" Beta Centauri is 350ly away.
A way of demonstrating this is to close one eye and hold 1 finger on each hand at arms length and the other half way between your 1st finger and your eye. They appear close to each other but are in fact a distance apart.
Why is the big dipper a symbol on the Alaskan flag?
The 'Pole Star' is the last star at the end of the little dipper's handle.
If you look at the little dipper at a few different times, and keep track of the position in which it appears each time,
you'll see that it spins around like the hand of a clock, as if the end of the handle is nailed down. That star at the
end of the handle is the 'Pole Star' or 'North Star' or 'Polaris'. It's very close to the point in the sky that Earth's north pole
points to; so everything in the sky appears to rotate daily around that star.
Who discovered the Virgo constellation star?
The Virgo constellation does not have a single discoverer as its stars have been known and observed since ancient times. The constellation was first cataloged by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
What Greek constellation is the same as the Japanese constellation of a drum?
The Greek constellation that is similar to the Japanese constellation of a drum is the constellation of Lyra, representing a harp in Greek mythology. In Japanese astronomy, this constellation is also known as the "Tairyo-bata," or the "Big Dipper." Both constellations are traditionally associated with musical instruments.
What is the distance from Earth to the star Acubens?
Acubens, Alpha Cancri A, is approximately 174 light years from Earth.
Alnitak is a very interesting star, because it is not one, but three stars. The main star, Alnitak Aa, is a type 09.5 blue supergiant that is orbited at 11 Astronomical Units (roughly the distance at which Saturn orbits the Sun) by a type O blue dwarf that astronomers call Alnitak Ab. This binary star system is orbited at 680 AUs (roughly the distance of the inner Ort Cloud from the Sun) by the bluish-white type B0 Alnitak B.
Why does the constellation of Orion seem to move?
There are two things that cause the constellations to appear to move.
- The first is the earth's rotation, this causes the zodiac constellations to rise in the east at dusk move across the sky at night and set in the west at dawn just like the Sun moves across the sky during the day. Those constellations that appear near the north or south polar areas of the sky don't rise and set, they simply rotate during the night.
- The Earth rotates once a year round the Sun and as the zodiac constellations are arranged in a circle round the Sun in the plane of the Earth's orbit, as the Earth orbits the sun different constellations will be visible in the night sky at different parts of the orbit. This too causes the constellations to appear to move, for instance Orion is visible in the night sky during the northern winter but is on the opposite side of the Sun to Earth during the summer (and therefore not visible)
The earth does not rotate once a year round the sun, its called orbiting, rotate is spinning and orbit is moving around an object. Earth is a satellite of the sun.
What constellation is the Regulus star in?
Regulus is located in the constellation Leo. It is the brightest star in the Leo constellation and is one of the brightest stars in the night sky.
Why are some constellations only seen at certain seasons of the year?
the sun blocks our view of some stars. as the earth revolves further around the sun (over the course of a year), the stars that were originally blocked become visible from earth and stars that were once visible are now hiding on the other side of the sun.
Is Orion visible at 11 pm on the Fourth of July?
No. The best place to see Orion from is on the equator ... that's where it spends the most hours
above the horizon.
Even there, on the 4th of July, Orion isn't completely risen until 6 AM, and it's completely set
by 6 PM. So July seems like a particularly poor time to try and see Orion.
What is the life expectancy of the big and little dipper?
The big and the little dipper are each made up of many stars; each has a different life expentancy.
The big and the little dipper are each made up of many stars; each has a different life expentancy.
The big and the little dipper are each made up of many stars; each has a different life expentancy.
The big and the little dipper are each made up of many stars; each has a different life expentancy.
Technically, yes. But not fast enough for the change to be noticeable in the course of a human lifetime.
I've seen a drawing of what the shape of the Big Dipper will look like in 1,000 years from now. It's different, but clearly recognizable as the same Big Dipper.
