Astronomy Quiz

Study Material Part 2

Starts and Constellations

The whole sky has been divided into star groups that move together. In the ancient astronomy, there were 48
constellations but in 1930, the astronomers of the whole world decided to reorganise the stellar objects, and
modern astronomy goes with 88 constellations. A list of all constellations is given here :

Names of 88 constellation in the whole sky

Andromeda Circinus Lacerta Pisces Austrinus
Antlia Columba Leo Puppis
Apus Coma Berenices Leo Minor Pyxis
Aquarius Corona Australis Lepus Reticulum
Aquila Corona Borealis Libra Sagitta
Ara Corvus Lupus Sagittarius
Aries Crater Lynx Scorpius
Auriga Crux Lyra Sculptor
Bootes Cygnus Mensa Scutum
Caelum Delphinus Microscopium Serpens
Camelopardalis Dorado Monocerus Sextans
Cancer Draco Musca Taurus
Canes Venatici Equuleus Norma Telescopium
Canis Major Eridanus Octans Triangulum
Canis Minor Fornax Ophiuchus Triangulum Australe
Capricornus Gemini Orion Tucana
Carina Grus Pavo Ursa Major
Cassiopeia Hercules Pegasus Ursa Minor
Centaurus Horologium Perseus Vela
Cepheus Hydra Phoenix Virgo
Cetus Hydrus Pictor Volans
Chamaeleon Indus Pisces Vulpecula
Brightest Stars

Each star is an individual with its own personality. Thousands are visible on any clear night far removed from
city lights. Together, with the faint glow of myriad others, the tapestry of the celestial sphere is fashioned. Stars
come in different colors, sizes, shapes and ages. One trait that makes a star unique is its brightness.
Astronomers measure the brightness of a celestial object according to a system originally devised by
Hipparchus in 120 B.C. Hipparchus ranked the brightness of stars in the sky on a scale of 1 to 6 as seen from
the Earth. The brightest stars he could see were classified as first magnitude and the faintest were sixth
magnitude.
Centuries later we still use the magnitude scale of Hipparchus, although it has since been modernized.
The magnitude scale is logarithmic; one magnitude difference is equal to a brightness difference of about 2.5
times. So a magnitude 1 star is about 100 times brighter than a magnitude 5 star. The brighter planets and
stars have negative magnitudes. The Sun, being the brightest object in the sky, has a magnitude of –26,
followed by the full Moon at magnitude –11. Objects with a magnitude of 6 or less can be seen without optical
aid under ideal observing conditions away from all local lighting.
The following is a catalog of the ten brightest stars that grace the celestial sphere, an imaginary projection of
Earth into space. All the stars are drawn on the inside of this sphere, even though stars of course exist in
space at varying distances. As on Earth, the celestial sphere is split into northern and southern half’s, called
hemispheres.
As seen from our corner of the galaxy, these are lighthouses of the heavens and can be enjoyed even from
the heart of metropolitan areas.

1. Sirius
All stars shine but none do it like Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Aptly named, Sirius comes from the
Greek word Seirius, meaning, "searing" or "scorching." Blazing at a visual magnitude of –1.42, it is twice as
bright as any other star in our sky.
Sirius resides in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog, and is commonly called the Dog Star. In ancient
Greek times the dawn rising of Sirius marked the hottest part of summer. This is the origin of the phrase "dog
days of summer."
Because of Earth’s 26,000-year precession cycle, in which the planet's axis slowly wobbles due to the
gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon on the Earth’s equatorial bulge, Sirius no longer marks the hottest
part of summer, rising later in the year. Precession gradually changes the location of stars on the celestial
sphere.
Sirius is best seen at a favorable time during the winter months for northern hemisphere observers. To find the
Dog Star, use the constellation of Orion as a guide. Follow the three-belt stars -- obvious targets even for
casual skywatchers -- 20 degrees southeast to the brightest star in the sky. Your fist at arm's length covers
about 10 degrees of sky.
Sirius, the red giant star Betelgeuse, and Procyon in Canis Minor form a popular asterism known as the Winter
Triangle.
Intrinsically, Sirius is 23 times more luminous and about twice the mass and diameter of the Sun. Of course it’s
farther away from Earth than the Sun. But not too far, cosmically speaking. At a mere 8.5 light-years away,
Sirius seems so bright in part because it is fifth closest star to the Sun.
The brilliance of Sirius illuminates not only our night skies, but also our comprehension of them. While
observing it in 1718, Edmund Halley, of comet Halley fame, discovered that stars move in relation to one
another – a principle now known as proper motion.
In 1844, German astronomer Friedrich Bessel observed that Sirius had a wobble, as if being tugged by a
companion. While testing his new 18.5-inch lens in 1862 (the largest refracting telescope in the world at that
time), Alvan Clark solved this mystery by discovering that Sirius was not one star but two; the first compact
stellar remnant had been discovered, and it would prove to be a pioneer of what would be later referred to as a
whole class of white dwarf stars.
The companion, dubbed Sirius B, has the mass of the Sun in a package as small as the Earth, having
collapsed after depleting its hydrogen. A single cubic inch of matter from this companion star would weigh 2.25
tons on Earth. At magnitude 8.5, it is 1/400th as luminous as the Sun. The brighter and larger companion is
now known as Sirius A

2. Canopus
Canopus resides in the constellation Carina, The Keel. Carina is one of three modern-day constellations that
formed the ancient constellation of Argo Navis, the ship Jason and the Argonauts sailed in to search for the
Golden Fleece. Two other constellations form the Sail (Vela) and Stern (Puppis).
In modern odysseys, spacecraft such as Voyager 2 used the light from Canopus to orient themselves in the
sea of space.
Canopus is a true powerhouse. Its brilliance from our terrestrial vantage point is due more to its great
luminosity than its proximity. Though 316 light-years away, No. 2 on our list is 14,800 times the intrinsic
luminosity of the Sun. (Recall that the brightest star, Sirius, is just 8.5 light-years distant.)
With a magnitude of –0.72, Canopus is easy to find in the night sky, though it is only visible at latitudes south
of 37 degrees north (roughly south of Pittsburg).
To catch a glimpse of it from middle and southern locations in the United States, look for a bright star low on
the southern horizon during the winter months. Canopus is located 36 degrees below the brightest star in the
sky, Sirius. The further south you are, the better your view will be.
Canopus is a yellow-white F super giant -- a star with a temperature from 10,000 to 14,000 degrees
Fahrenheit (6,000 to 8,000 Kelvin) -- that has ceased hydrogen fusion and is now in the process of converting
its core helium into carbon. This process as led to its current size, 65 times that of the Sun. If we were to
replace our Sun with Canopus, it would almost envelope Mercury.
Canopus will eventually become one of the largest white dwarfs in the galaxy and may just be massive enough
to fuse its carbon, turning into a rare neon-oxygen white dwarf. These are rare because most white dwarfs
have carbon-oxygen cores. But a massive star like Canopus can begin to burn its carbon into neon and
oxygen as the star evolves into a small, dense and cooler object.
Canopus lost its place in the celestial hierarchy for a short time in the 1800s when the star Eta Carinae
underwent a massive outburst, surpassing Canopus in brightness and briefly becoming the second brightest
star in the sky.

3. Rigil Kentaurus
Alpha Centauri (or Rigel Kentaurus, as it is also known) is actually a system composed of three gravitationally
bound stars. The two main stars are Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B. The tiniest star in the system is a
red dwarf known as Alpha Centauri C.
The Alpha Centauri system is a special one. At an average
distance of 4.3 light-years, these stars are our nearest known
neighbors in space beyond the solar system.
Centauri A and B are remarkably Sun-like, with Centauri A
being a near twin of the Sun (both are yellow G stars). In
comparison to the Sun, Alpha Centauri A is 1.5 times as
luminous and shines at magnitude -0.01 while Alpha Centauri
B is half as luminous and shines at magnitude 1.3.
Alpha Centauri C, is 7,000 times fainter and shines at 11th magnitude.
Of the three stars, the littlest is the closest star to the Sun. At 4.22 light-years away, it would take 4.22 years
traveling at light speed to get to Alpha Centauri C. Because of its proximity, it is known as Proxima Centauri.
When night falls and the skies are clear, the Alpha Centauri system shines at a magnitude of –0.27 low in the
southern sky during the summer months. You can find it at the foot of the Centaur in the constellation of
Centaurus.
Because of its position in the sky, the Alpha Centauri system is not easily visible in much of the Northern
Hemisphere. An observer must be at latitudes south of 28 degrees north (or roughly from Naples, Florida and
locations further south) to see the closest stellar system to us.
The two brighter components of the system make a wonderful double star to observe in a small telescope.
Naked-eye Alpha Centauri appears so bright because it is so close. This also means that it has a large proper
motion – the drifting of stars relative to each other due to their actual motion and direction in space. In another
4,000 years Alpha Centauri will have moved near enough to Beta Centauri for the two to form an apparent
double star.

4. Arcturus
Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. (The first three stars on this list are actually
in the southern celestial sphere, though seasonally they are visible from the northern hemisphere of Earth).
Known as the Bear Watcher, Arcturus follows Ursa Major, the Great Bear, around the north celestial pole. The
name itself derives from the Greek word arktos, meaning bear.
Arcturus is an orange giant, twice as massive and 215 times as bright as the Sun. It takes 37 years for the light
of Arcturus to reach us, so when we gaze upon it, we are seeing the star as it looked 37 years ago. It glows at
magnitude –0.04 in our night skies.
A variable star, Arcturus is in the last stages of its normal life.
During a struggle between gravity and pressure, it has swelled to 25 times the Sun’s diameter. Eventually the
outer envelope of Arcturus will be peeled away and the material ejected as a planetary nebula similar to the
famed Ring Nebula in Lyra. What will be left behind is a white dwarf.
Arcturus is the Alpha (meaning brightest) star of the springtime constellation Bootes, The Herdsman. You can
find it by using the Big Dipper as your celestial guidepost. Follow the arc of the handle until you come to a
bright orange star. This is Arcturus, forming the point of a pattern of stars resembling a kite.
In the spring, if you keep following the arc, you’ll encounter another bright star, Spica. If this all sounds a bit
confusing remember this phrase: "Arc to Arcturus, speed on to Spica."
In the 1930’s when astronomers were busy measuring the distance to nearby stars, Arcturus was believed to
be 40 light-years distant. With emergent photocell technology employed at the 1933 World Fair in Chicago, the
light from Arcturus was collected and used to activate a series of switches. Light believed to originate at the
time of the previous Chicago World Fair -- the city had hosted it 40 years prior -- was used to illuminate and
officially open the Fair in 1933.
We now know Arcturus is 37 light-years away, however.

5. Vega
The name Vega derives from the Arabic word for Swooping Eagle or Vulture. Vega is the luminary of Lyra, the
Harp, a small but prominent constellation that is home to the Ring Nebula and the star Epsilon Lyrae.
The Ring is a luminous shell of gas that was ejected from an old star. It resembles a smoke ring or donut.
Epsilon Lyrae appears to the naked-eye as a double star, but through a small telescope you can see that the
two individual stars are themselves double! Epsilon Lyrae is popularly known as the "double double."
Vega is a hydrogen-burning dwarf star, 54 times more luminous and 1.5 times more massive than the Sun. At
25 light-years away, it is relatively close to us. It shines, therefore, with a magnitude of 0.03 in the night sky.
In 1984, a disk of cool gas surrounding Vega was discovered -- the first of its kind. The disk extends 70 Earth-
Sun distances from the star. The discovery was important because a similar disk is theorized to have played
an integral role in planet development within our own solar system.
Interestingly, a ‘hole’ was found in the Vega disk, indicating the possibility that planets might have coalesced
and formed around the star. It was not by random choice that Carl Sagan selected Vega as the source of radio
transmissions received from an advanced alien culture when he wrote the book that was the basis for the
movie "Contact.
Together with the bright stars Altair and Deneb, Vega forms the popular Summer Triangle asterism that
announces the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The asterism crosses the hazy band of the
Milky Way, which is split into two near Deneb by a large dust cloud called the Cygnus Rift.
This area of the sky is ideal for sweeping with binoculars of any size in dark-sky conditions.
Vega was the first star to be photographed, on the night of July 16-17, 1850 by photographer J.A. Whipple.
With the daguerreotype camera used at the time, he made an exposure of 100 seconds using a 15-inch
refractor telescope at Harvard University. Fainter stars (those of 2nd magnitude and dimmer) would not have
registered at all given the technology of the time.
Vega used to be the North Star, but 12,000 years of Earth’s precession has altered its place in the celestial
sphere. Precession is the 26,000 year wobble of the Earth’s axis due to the gravitational attraction of the Sun
and Moon on the Earth’s equatorial bulge. In another 14,000 years, Vega will be the North Star once again.

6. Capella
Capella is the primary star in the constellation Auriga the "Charioteer" and the brightest star that is near the
north celestial pole.
Capella is a fascinating star system comprised of two similar class G yellow giant stars and a pair of much
fainter red dwarf stars. The brighter yellow giant, known as Aa, is 80 times more luminous and nearly three
times more massive than our Sun. The fainter yellow giant, known as Ab, is 50 times more luminous than the
Sun and two-and-a-half times as massive. The combined luminosity of the two stars is about 130 suns.
The Capella system is 42 light-years away, its light reaching us with a magnitude of 0.08.
It is highest in the winter months and circumpolar (meaning it never sets) at latitudes higher than 44 degrees
north (or roughly north of Toronto, Canada).
To locate it, follow the two top stars that form the pan of the Big Dipper across the sky. Capella is the brighter
star in the irregular pentagon formed by the stars in the constellation Auriga. South of Capella is a small
triangle of stars known as the Kids. One of the most ancient legends had Auriga as a goat herder and patron
of shepherds. The brilliant golden yellow Capella was known as the She-Goat Star. The nearby triangle of
fainter stars represents her three kids.
Both yellow giants are in the process of dying, and will eventually become a pair of white dwarf stars.

7. Rigel
On the western heel of Orion, the Hunter, rests brilliant Rigel. In classical mythology, Rigel marks the spot
where Scorpio, the Scorpion stung Orion after a brief and fierce battle. Its Arabic name means the Foot.
Rigel is a multiple star system. The brighter component, Rigel A, is a blue super giant that shines a remarkable
40,000 times stronger than the Sun! Although 775 light-years distant, its light shines bright in our evening
skies, at magnitude 0.12.
Rigel resides in the most impressive of the winter constellations, mighty Orion. With the exception of the Big
Dipper, it is the most recognized and easiest to identify constellation. It helps too that the shape made by
Orion’s stars match what the mythical figure represents. Three bright stars are lined up together to form the
belt of the hunter. The other 4 stars surrounding the belt compose its shoulders and legs.
Telescope observers should be able to resolve Rigel’s companion, a fairly bright 7th magnitude star. However
the jewel in Orion is the "Great Orion Nebula", a vast stellar nursery where new stars are still being born. It can
be found six moon widths south of the belt stars.
A heavy star of 17 solar masses, Rigel is likely to go out with a bang some day, or it might become a rare
oxygen-neon white dwarf.

8. Procyon
Procyon resides in the small constellation of Canis Minor, the Little Dog. The constellation symbolizes the
smaller of Orion’s two hunting dogs (Canis Minor and Canis Major).
The word Procyon is Greek for Before the Dog, for the reason that in the Northern Hemisphere, Procyon
announces the rise of Sirius, the Dog Star.
Procyon is a yellow-white main sequence star, twice the size and 7 times more luminous than the Sun. With
the exception of Alpha Centauri, it is the least intrinsically luminous star on this list. Like Alpha Centauri it
appears so bright only because at 11.4 light-years, it is relatively close.
Procyon is an example of a main sequence "sub giant" star, one that is beginning the death process by
converting its remaining core hydrogen into helium. Procyon is currently twice the diameter of the Sun, one of
the largest stars within 20 light-years.
Canis Major can be found relatively easy east of Orion during Northern Hemisphere winter months. Procyon,
along with Sirius and Betelgeuse, form the Winter Triangle asterism.
Procyon is orbited by a white dwarf companion detected visually in 1896 by John M. Schaeberle. The fainter
companion's existence was first noted in 1840, however, by Arthur von Auswers who observed irregularities in
Procyon's proper motion best explained by a massive albeit faint companion.
At just one-third the size of Earth, the companion dubbed Procyon B contains 60 percent of the Sun’s mass.
The brighter component is now known as Procyon A.

9. Achernar
Achernar is derived from the Arabic phrase meaning "the end of the river," an appropriate name for a star that
marks the southernmost flow of the constellation Eridanus, the River.
Achernar is the hottest star on this list. Its temperature has been measured to be between 24,740 and 33,740
degrees Fahrenheit (14, 000-19,000 Kelvin). Its luminosity ranges from 2,900 to 5,400 times that of the Sun.
Shining at magnitude 0.45, its light takes 144 years to reach your eye.
Achernar is more or less tied with Betelgeuse (No. 10 on the list) for brightness. However, Achernar is
generally listed as the ninth brightest star in the sky because Betelgeuse is a variable whose magnitude can
drop to less than 1.2, as was the case in 1927 and 1941.
For Northern Hemisphere observers, Achernar rises in the southeast during the winter months and is visible
only from latitudes south of 32 degrees north; those further north only see a portion of the constellation.
For Star Trek fans: Eridanus is home to Epsilon Eridanus, the star around which Mr. Spock’s home planet of
Vulcan revolves.
Achernar is a massive class B star containing up to eight solar masses. It is currently burning its hydrogen into
helium and will eventually evolve into a white dwarf star. [Achernar Map]

10. Betelgeuse
Don’t let Betelgeuse’s ranking as the tenth brightest star in the sky fool you. Its distance -- 430 light-years --
hides the true scale of this supergiant. With a whopping luminosity of 55,000 suns, Betelgeuse still shines
bright in our skies at a magnitude of 0.5.
Betelgeuse (pronounced beetle juice by most astronomers) derives its name from an Arabic phrase meaning
"the armpit of the central one."
The star marks the eastern shoulder of mighty Orion, the Hunter. Another name for Betelgeuse is Alpha
Orionis, indicating it is the brightest star in the winter constellation of Orion. However, Rigel (Beta Orionis) is
actually brighter. The misclassification happened because Betelgeuse is a variable star (a star that changes
brightness over time) and it might have been brighter than Rigel when Johannes Bayer originally categorized
it.
Betelgeuse is an M1 red supergiant, 650 times the diameter and about 15 times the mass of the Sun. If
Betelgeuse were to replace the Sun, planets out to the orbit of Mars would be engulfed!
Betelgeuse is an ancient star approaching the end of its life cycle. Because of its mass it might fuse elements
all the way to iron and blow up as a supernova that would be as bright as the crescent Moon, as seen from
Earth. A dense neutron star would be left behind. The other alternative is that it might evolve into a rare neon-
oxygen dwarf.
Betelgeuse was the first star to have its surface directly imaged, a feat accomplished in 1996 with the Hubble
Space Telescope.

Galaxies
Edwin Hubbell assigned a naming convention to galaxies, which
remains in use today. Galaxies come in three main forms, irregular
galaxies with shapes that are amorphous, elliptical galaxies with a
large core and almost no disk, and spiral galaxies which come in
two forms, those with a large central cylinder of stars (barred) and
those where the spirals go all the way to the core.
The shapes of galaxies appear to start as spirals of one sort or the
other. Over time galaxies pas near or actually through each other.
Currently, a small galaxy [the Sagittarius Galaxy] is colliding with our Milky Way. When they do this the smaller
galaxy loses many of it stars to the larger galaxy. If the smaller galaxy comes into too close a contact it may be
simply swallowed by the greater galaxy. If it is somewhat farther away it may escape badly tattered as an
irregular galaxy. This is what seems to have happened to the Large and Small Magellenic Clouds. After
swallowing enough smaller galaxies, the spiral shape disappears and the galaxy assumes an ever more
elliptical shape.
The Great Andromeda is a classic spiral galaxy. At
the leading edges of reaching rotating arm, a wave of
gas compression occurs triggering areas of star
formation. Andromeda is nearly edge on in this image
but it would look like M74 if we saw it face on.
Virgo A also known as M87 is many hundreds the
times the mass of our own galaxy. Trillions of stars
are believed to populate this great object. Virgo A is
the largest of the galaxies in the so-called Realm of
the Galaxies, which spans parts of Virgo, Coma
Berenices and Leo. This area has more galaxies to
seen than it has stars visible to your eye. While it looks rather like a globular cluster, it is billions of times as
large.
NGC1300 is a clear example of a barred spiral. Unlike a traditional spiral, the swirling arms star at the ends of a
cylinder of stars, which extends for many tens of thousands of light years from the center of the barred spiral.

Star Clusters
Open clusters of stars are formed in a common stellar nursery. In time birthing
grounds like M42 and the Omega Nebula in the southern hemisphere will drive
out gas which has not been included in the newly formed stars. In some open
clusters like the Pleiades traces of the gas still can be seen in photographs
sensitive to blue and ultraviolet light. [This gauzy gas is not visible to the human
eye]. When the stars were formed they were densely packed. However they
each had their own motions, which over time causes them to disperse.
Globular clusters are effectively satellites of the galaxy in which they reside.
They travels as units into the central areas of the galaxy on orbits somewhat like
comets around the Sun. Stars
in globular clusters are quite unlike stars in the main disk of the galaxy. Main disk stars like the Sun carry a
great deal of heavier elements (metals to astronomers no matter what the chemists call them). Sun like stars
are called Population I stars. Stars found in globular clusters lack more than a tiny percentage of heavy
elements and form the Population II stars. The thin halo of stars outside the plane of the galaxy are also
Population II stars. Population II stars formed before there had been many
supernovae to create heavier elements. They are first generation stars for the
most part. Population I stars form in the wake of supernovae and contain the
heavier elements.
As the globular clusters orbit about the central core, they tend to be densest near
the core and sparser farther out. In our galaxy, the great concentration of
globular clusters in Sagittarius confirms that this constellation harbors the center
of the Milky Way. Further tests have shown that the exact center is a small
volume in Sagittarius with at least a mass of 2 billion Suns. This dense area is
believed to be a black hole and is called Sagittarius A*.

Nebulae
An emission nebula is gas excited by ultraviolet radiation from fierce new blue violet
stars. This is the same condition, which occurs in fluorescent and neon lamps. This
type of nebula is typified by M42, the Great Nebula in Orion. The Trapezium as well
as many unseen embedded stars provide the' sources of ultraviolet radiation.
An absorption nebula is a mixture of gas and particularly dust dense enough to
absorb, redden and even blot out light. These cause dark nebulae like the
Horsehead and the Coal Sack. They cause dark areas like Sagittarius and the Sombrero. However they do not
include "empty lanes" in the Milky Way.
Sometimes a nebula can have regions, which emit while other regions absorb. This
is the case in the Horsehead Nebula shown here. The dark regions are areas where
light has been absorbed so heavily that the area looks like a dark cloud. The bright
regions are where hydrogen gas is fluorescing emitting a reddish frequency called
the hydrogen beta line. Near the edges of the dark regions areas absorb much but
not all of the light and it is possible to use a spectrograph to determine the clouds
chemical make up.
When light from a foreground stars shines on background clouds, a reflection
nebula is formed. In some cases, an absorbing nebula can hide the foreground star.
Reflection nebula can sometimes be precisely mapped and measured by timing the pulses of light from a
variable star or a supernova.
Planetary nebulae arise when an aging stars sheds shells of gas as the fusing of hydrogen leaves the core
and moves towards the star's surface. Large explosions (but not as large as supernovae), progressively strip
the star of material. If the star manages to shed enough material, then it will end up as a white dwarf with a ring
about it, which grows year by year. Eventually these rings become so large and thin that they are no longer
illuminated by the hot central white dwarf.

Quasars
Quasars are extremely bright objects, which can be seen across the universe. The only known source of such
power would be a huge black hole swallowing the gas from stars unfortunate enough to get too near the black
hole. The light is not emitted by the black hole itself, but a disk of material spiraling into the black hole. Quasars
normally have long jets of material shooting out at nearly the speed of light. These jets can be luminous for
years.
Active galactic nuclei are suspected of containing black holes in their centers. In fact some theories say that all
galaxies arose around a central black hole formed at the big bang [a pure guess so far]. Those, which are so
suspected, have something very energetic at the core.