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A faint, fuzzy galaxy located along our line of sight to a bright orange star.

Mirach is guide star to 3 galaxies

Posted by and in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 5 months ago

Mirach, a bright star in the constellation Andromeda, is often used by stargazers to locate the Andromeda Galaxy, the Triangulum Galaxy, and a galaxy known as Mirach’s Ghost (NGC 404).

Image of bright Gamma Cephei with sparsely distributed faint stars.

Gamma Cephei: A future Pole Star

Posted by and in Brightest Stars | 6 months ago

About two thousand years from now, Gamma Cephei, an inconspicuous star in the constellation Cepheus, will become our North Star.
A star map showing how to find the Andromeda Galaxy from Alpheratz.

Alpheratz belongs to Andromeda, but is part of the Great Square

Posted by and in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 6 months ago

Alpheratz, the brightest star in the constellation Andromeda, can help you locate the Andromeda Galaxy, the closest large spiral galaxy to our Milky Way home galaxy.

A star called Mira the Wonderful

Posted by in Brightest Stars | 7 months ago

Mira, in Cetus the Whale, varies in brightness over about 11 months. In late September 2020, it might be near its peak brightness, easily bright enough to be viewed with the eye alone.

Deneb is distant and very luminous

Posted by in Brightest Stars | 8 months ago

When you gaze at the bright star Deneb, you’re gazing across thousands of light-years of space.
A image of two blue-white stars shining prominently in a backdrop of fainter reddish stars.

Meet the Scorpion’s Stinger stars, Shaula and Lesath

Posted by in Brightest Stars | 9 months ago

The constellation Scorpius resembles a scorpion, complete with a curved tail. Two stars close together near the end of the Tail – Shaula and Lesath – represent the Scorpion’s Stinger. They’re easy to spot and fun to get to know!
Image of a star field showing two bright stars, Epsilon Lyrae 1 and Epsilon Lyrae 2.

Epsilon Lyrae is the famous Double Double star

Posted by in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 9 months ago

To the unaided eye, Epsilon Lyrae, in the constellation Lyra, appears as one star. But it’s actually a star system with at least five stars.

Vega: Brilliant blue-white star in the Summer Triangle

Posted by in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 11 months ago

Vega is 1 of 3 stars in an asterism – or noticeable star pattern – called the Summer Triangle in the early evening sky.

A single bright star, Regulus. Above it is a faint smudge of light, the dwarf galaxy Leo I.

Meet Regulus, the Lion’s Heart

Posted by in Brightest Stars | 12 months ago

The bright star Regulus is very prominent in the evening sky in May. It looks like a single point of light, but is really 4 stars. It’s the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion.

Mimosa, 2nd-brightest in Southern Cross

Posted by in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 1 year ago

To see Mimosa, you need to be at the latitude of New Orleans, Hawaii, Cairo or New Delhi. From the Southern Hemisphere, Mimosa is a prominent and beloved star.