Stars Trivia

1. Aries main asterism is formed by three prominent stars, of which the brightest one is mostly referred to by the traditional name of "Hamal". This is the Arabic word for what animal?

From Quiz The Stars We Find Along The Way

Answer: Ram

The name is derived from "ras al-hamal", meaning "head of the ram". The other two stars of the asterism form the "horns of the ram" (qarna al-hamal). Even though it's not as bright as some other stars in the night sky, it is one of the "navigational stars", i.e., stars that are used as a point of reference in navigation. Also, in ancient times, Hamal was the brightest star in the constellation that contained the northern vernal equinox, the point where the Sun's apparent path crosses the celestial equator from south to north, thus marking the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere. This is the reason why the horoscope starts at Aries (although, recently, the equinox has moved to the Pisces constellation).

From Quiz Follow That Star!

Answer: It was the brightest star in the sky.

Sirius is the brightest star in the sky; in fact, it is almost twice as bright as the next brightest star, Canopus. One of the reasons it seems to be so bright is because it is close to Earth. As it is gradually getting closer each year, it will also appear to be brighter during the next 60,000 years. Scientists estimate that it will be the Earth's brightest star for the next 210,000 years. Another reason it is so bright is due to its luminosity, or intrinsic brightness.

From Quiz It's Never Now

Answer: 500

Light takes around 500 seconds to reach us from the Sun's surface. So the Sun is around 500 light seconds away from us. This distance is equal to 150 million km.

From Quiz Constellation Math

Answer: 40

Today there are 88 modern constellations while Ptolemy listed 48 constellations in the second century, so the difference between 88 and 48 is 40.

From Quiz Look Up There!

Answer: Seven

The Big Dipper is composed of the seven brightest stars of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. Four stars compose the bowl, and three more stars compose the curved handle. The Big Dipper is not a constellation. It is what is known as an asterism, a pattern of stars that people recognize. The Big Dipper is always found in the northern sky, and can be seen throughout the year in the northern hemisphere. The state flag of Alaska contains an image of the Big Dipper.

From Quiz Night Skies

Answer: Sirius

Sirius has an apparent magnitude of -1.46 making it the brightest star visible from Earth at night. The Sun has an apparent magnitude of -26.74, but is not visible during night.

From Quiz "A" List Stars

Answer: it's an eclipsing binary

Algol is in the constellation of Perseus and legend says that it is the eye of Medusa, whom Perseus slew. The "eye" seems to wink slowly over the course of 4 days because the fainter star moves in front of the brighter one. Although Algol is actually a three-star system, the third star does not occlude the others as seen from Earth.

From Quiz Beta Stars

Answer: Rigel

Betelgeuse is a huge red supergiant but Rigel is actually a blue supergiant. It is much brighter in absolute magnitude and a bit brighter in apparent magnitude. Rigel is considered the left foot or ankle of Orion and Betelgeuse is the right shoulder. The other two are also quite bright. Bellatrix is the left shoulder and Saiph is the right foot.

From Quiz Binary Star Systems

Answer: Two stars which orbit a common center of gravity

In a binary system, two stars orbit each other due to a common gravitational center, which is dependent on the mass on the stars. When two stars appear close together in the sky, the situation is known as an "optical double". This means that although the stars are aligned along the same line of sight, they may be at completely different distances from us. This occurs in constellations; however, two stars in the same constellation can also be part of a binary system.

From Quiz Siriusly speaking!

Answer: dog

Originally, the name only referred to the star itself, not the entire constellation as today. Sirius is known colloquially as the Dog Star because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Greater Dog).

From Quiz H-R Diagram

Answer: Hertzsprung- Russell Diagram

It is named after its two designers Ejnar Hertzsprung and Henry Norris Russell.

From Quiz All About Stars

Answer: Orion

Betelgeuse is a large, red supergiant in the constellation of Orion. It's the 10th brightest star in the night sky along with Beta Centauri.

From Quiz The Great Hunter, Orion

Answer: Three

Their names are Alnilam, Alnitak, and Mintaka.

From Quiz The Night Sky

Answer: The Big Dipper

In Britain, the Little Dipper is known only as Ursa Minor and the Little Bear.

From Quiz Follow The Stars Home

Answer: Achernar

Achernar is a blue dwarf star surrounded by helium gas. A dwarf star is a small star that is losing mass faster than the Sun. Achernar is surrounded by helium gas. Because it spins so quickly, the star's temperature is hard to determine. Because of the star's proximity to the South Pole, it can not be seen from the northern hemisphere.

From Quiz Stars and Constellations #1

Answer: Ursa Minor

Ursa Major is the big bear and Leo is the Lion.

From Quiz Constellation's Stars

Answer: Leo

Discovered depicted on the ceiling of a temple in Egypt by one of Napoleon's officers, this zodiac constellation dates back to the time of Cleopatra.

From Quiz Facts About Constellations

Answer: Mensa

Mensa (The Table) is the dimmest constellation. Caelum (The Engaving Tool), Horologium (The Clock), and Sextans (The Sextant) each have 2 stars above the 5th magnitude.

From Quiz Constellation Abbreviations #2

Answer: Ara

You had to get this one right! Ara, the Altar, was once part of the constellations of Centaurus and Lupus. For such a small constellation, it has quite a few nice clusters.

From Quiz Constellations

Answer: Centaurus

Centaurus is home to Rigil Kentaurus, better known as Alpha Centauri. Alpha Centauri is a triple star system, consisting of Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B and Proxima Centauri. Proxima is the closest star to us.

From Quiz Stars And Their Constellations

Answer: Canis Minor

Procyon, also known as 'Alpha Canis Minoris' and is the 8th brightest star in the night sky.

From Quiz Constellation Knowledge

Answer: 88

In 1930 astronomers around the world decided to officially divide the heavens into 88 constellations.

From Quiz Double Stars

Answer: Lyra

The double double is also known as Epsilon Lyrae.

From Quiz Stars and Constellations

Answer: Canis Major

Sirius is the brightest star in our night sky. It is about 8 light years away.

From Quiz The Stars We Find Along The Way

Answer: Aldebaran

Taurus' most notable features are the Pleiades and Hyades, two of the nearest open star clusters to Earth. However, Aldebaran is not part of those. Derived from the Arabic word for "the follower", Aldebaran's name illustrates the fact that it seems to "follow" the Pleiades during the motion of the celestial sphere in the night. Although it's cooler than the Sun, is a lot more massive, and about 400 times more luminous. Therefore, it is relatively easy to observe it in the night sky, particularly between November and December in the northern hemisphere.

From Quiz Follow That Star!

Answer: Sopdet

Sopdet (Sothis in Greek) is also the name they used for the goddess that was the personification of the star. She was shown as a woman who had a five-pointed star on her head; during the Old Kingdom she was associated with soil fertility, and served as a guide to help dead pharaohs find their way to the stars in the afterlife. She was married to Sah, who was associated with the constellation later called Orion; together they eventually were connected to Osiris and Isis.

From Quiz It's Never Now

Answer: Perseus

Mirfak is the brightest star in the constellation Perseus, so is also known as Alpha Persei. This star is around 505 light years away from us, with an apparent magnitude of 1.8. It is a blue to white coloured supergiant star. This star easily outshines the Algol star, which is best known for its varying brightness.

From Quiz Keep Your Eyes on the Star

Answer: Sirius

Sirius is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major. It is also the brightest star in the night sky. This star is roughly around 8 light years away from Earth. Sirius is a part of the 'big dog' constellation, so is known as the dog star.

From Quiz Constellation Math

Answer: 30

There are 15 equatorial constellations (those that cross the equator), including two separate parts of Serpens as one, and there are two circumpolar constellations, where the celestial poles are located in that appears to rotate around it -- the north pole is in Ursa Minor, while the south pole is in Octans. So 15 × 2 is 30.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:46 AM

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