Posts Tagged ‘light years’
Sky Tonight—January 12, Moon and stars of Aries
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Practiced stargazers sometimes use three stars of the constellation Aries the Ram to find an elusive galaxy – M74 – also known as the Phantom galaxy. As seen from the world this evening, the first quarter moon shines in front of the constellation Pisces the Fishes, not far at the Aries/Pisces border. The three stars mentioned above are to the moon’s upper left tonight. They depict the head of Aries the Ram. ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—March 10: Is Sirius the most
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Look south at nightfall and early evening, and you can’t miss Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky. Mia asks, “Isn’t there a brighter star in absolute magnitude which appears dimmer because of its distance?” Yes, Mia, you are right. Sirius looks extraordinarily bright in Earth’s sky because it is only 8.6 light-years away. Many stars on the sky’s dome are intrinsically more luminous than Sirius, but ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — March 7, 2010: Predawn moon
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org On the morning of March 8 (Monday), the rather wide waning crescent moon helps you to locate the two stars in the tail of the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. These two very noticeable stars – called Shaula and Lesath – are often shown on old star maps at the tip of the Scorpion’s Stinger. These star names mean raised tail and stinger respectively in Arabic, although there is some controversy over the origin of Lesath. ... Full Story
