Stars
Star Facts: Megrez
Megrez (Delta Ursae Majoris) is the least luminous of all the seven Dipper stars, with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.3. This blue-white main sequence dwarf star is located around 58.4 light years from Earth, …
Stars
Stars
Star Facts: Mizar and Alcor
Mizar (Zeta Ursae Majoris) and Alcor (80 Ursae Majoris) form a true binary that can be seen without optical aid as a stellar pair in the handle of the Big Dipper asterism of Ursa Major. …
FAQs
Essential Astronomical Systems of Measurement
What measurements are used in astronomy? Read on to discover the standard of measures that are applied to time, distance, brightness, location, and more. Speed of Light The Speed of Light is around 186,000 miles/sec …
Stars
Star Facts: Phecda
Phecda (Gamma Ursae Majoris), the 6th brightest star in Ursa Major and 85th brightest star in the night sky, marks out the lower left corner of the Big Dipper’s bowl. Along with most of the …
Stars
Star Facts: Merak
Merak (Beta Ursae Majoris) is the 5th brightest star in the Big Dipper asterism associated with the constellation Ursa Major, and the 80th most luminous star in the entire night sky. The star also serves …
Stars
Star Facts: Alkaid
Alkaid (Eta Ursae Majoris) is a prominent star in the handle of the Big Dipper, an asterism which forms just a small part of the overall constellation of Ursa Major. With an apparent magnitude of …
Astronomy Lists
10 Interesting Facts about Variable Stars
In simple terms, a variable star is a star whose luminosity changes or fluctuates as seen from Earth. The changes in luminosity can be caused by a wide range of possible causes, some of which …
Astronomy Lists
10 Interesting Facts about Neutron Stars
Simply put, a neutron star is the collapsed and highly compressed remains of a relatively massive star that died in a supernova event. Neutron stars are also the smallest stars known to exist, with their …
Astronomy Lists
10 Interesting Facts about Brown Dwarf Stars
As a general rule, brown dwarf stars can be described as sub-stellar objects that range from between 13 and 90 Jupiter masses. Consequently, brown dwarfs are considered a missing link between gas giant planets and …
Astronomy Lists
10 Interesting Facts about Blue Giant Stars
Since there is no clear definition of blue giant stars, the term is frequently applied to any hot, massive star, albeit erroneously in some cases. For the most part, though, blue giant stars fall into …