Brightest Stars | EarthSky

Zubenelgenubi is Libra’s alpha star

Posted by Bruce McClure in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 4 months ago

Now it’s Libra’s alpha star. But Zubenelgenubi is an Arabic name indicating that this star was once perceived as the Southern Claw of Scorpius the Scorpion.

Alphecca, the jewel in the Northern Crown

Posted by Bruce McClure and Deborah Byrd in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 5 months ago

Alphecca. Gemma. Alpha Coronae Borealis or simply Alpha Cor Bor. They’re all names for one star – the brightest star in the constellation Northern Crown.

Polaris is the North Star

Posted by Bruce McClure in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 6 months ago

Many people think Polaris is the sky’s brightest star. In fact, Polaris ranks only 50th in brightness. Still, Polaris is famous because the entire northern sky wheels around it.

Thuban is a former Pole Star

Posted by Bruce McClure and Deborah Byrd in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 6 months ago

Thuban was the Pole Star some 5,000 years ago, when the Egyptians were building the pyramids.

Spica is a whirling double star

Posted by Deborah Byrd and Larry Sessions in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 6 months ago

Spica’s 2 stars orbit a common center of gravity in only 4 days. Their mutual gravity distorts each star into an egg shape, with the pointed ends facing each other.

Observatory dome in foreground, Milky Way in background, and Alpha Centauri's position marked.

Alpha Centauri, star system closest to our sun

Posted by Larry Sessions in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 7 months ago

We see this nearly star system as a single star in our sky, but it’s really 3 stars. Of the 3, Proxima is closer to our sun than any other known star.

Alpha and Beta Centauri, pointing to Crux.

Beta Centauri is a Southern Pointer Star

Posted by Larry Sessions in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 7 months ago

Beta Centauri – aka Hadar – joins Alpha Centauri in pointing to the Southern Cross. Like Alpha, Beta Centauri is also 3 stars, but 2 of Beta’s stars will someday become nearby supernovae.