It's used by astronomers to designate the second-brightest star in a constellation
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Gemini (constellation) - Wikipedia  Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century AD astronomer Ptolemy and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for "twins," and it is associated with the twins Castor and ... The brightest star in Gemini is Pollux, and the second brightest is Castor.
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Greek Letters  Greek letters are used in some star maps. ... in 1603 which introducted designating the brighter stars of each constellation by ... In a constellation the brightnest star is (Alpha), the second brightest (Beta) and so on. ... Processing - Software - Star Parties - Imaging the Sky - Portland Astronomy - Travels - Web Sites - Glossary.
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Astronomical naming conventions - Wikipedia  The Bayer designations of about 1,500 brightest stars were first published in 1603. ... alphabet, followed by the Latin name of its parent constellation. The Bayer designation uses the possessive form of a constellation's name, ... This led to a third iteration, where numeric superscripts were...
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Bayer designation - Wikipedia  A Bayer designation is a stellar designation in which a specific star is identified by a Greek letter, followed by the genitive form of its parent constellation's Latin name. The original list of Bayer designations contained 1,564 stars. Most of the brighter stars were assigned their first systematic names by the ... Bayer then repeated the procedure for the stars of the 2nd magnitude (those...
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Star Facts: The Basics of Star Names and Stellar Evolution  Dec 16, 2014 ... The second brightest star in a constellation is typically designated "beta," the ... for 272,150 stars and has been widely used of by the astronomical community for ... The greater a star's mass, the shorter its lifespan generally is.
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The Brightest Stars - Carnaval.com  Sirius has a magnitude of -1.42, which makes it nine times more brilliant than a ... Ursa Minor or the Little Dipper Constellation points to the North Star although this will ... Polaris can also be found by following a line through the two stars which .... a fainter one which means someone wanted the Big Dog to have company.
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Deneb - Alpha Cygni | Constellation Guide  Jun 15, 2014 ... Deneb, Alpha Cygni, is the brightest star in Cygnus constellation and the most distant of all first magnitude stars. ... Alpha Cygni marks the tail of the Swan constellation, with the bright double star Albireo, Beta Cygni, marking...
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Alhena | StarDate Online  Dec 28, 2014 ... Gemini is known for its two brightest stars, which mark the heads of the ... the eastern sky in early evening, with Castor standing a bit above its twin. ... Since it's less massive than its companion, it'll live billions of years longer.
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skycharts - NMSU Astronomy  He set his own children adrift out to sea when he found out that his new wife had ... Alpha Cygni, is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus, and is known as ... All five of these constellations (Perseus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and ... The Great Square of Pegasus: The stars Alpha Andromedae (Alpheratz), with...
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Emmaus Road Ministries: The North Star  Jul 13, 2014 ... Wikipedia says of the pole or north star: "Because of it's importance in celestial ... That's why "Polaris" is known by numerous names. ... Ursa Minor was called "Kochab," so named for it's second brightest star in the upper right ... out of a constellation symbolizing satan, who once held the keys, into this one...
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Betelgeuse - Wikipedia  Coordinates: Sky map 05 55 10.3053, +07 24 25.426. Betelgeuse, also designated Alpha ... It would be the brightest star in the sky if the human eye could view all ... The traditional name Betelgeuse is derived from the Arabic   Ibt .... the red supergiant can be seen briefly on the western horizon after sunset,...
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Focus on stars Betelgeuse and Rigel in Orion | Tonight | EarthSky  Many constellations have a bright star, but Orion has two: Rigel and Betelgeuse. ... A red supergiant, Betelgeuse is no slouch of a star either. ... You'll also easily recognize Orion by its Belt stars, three medium-bright stars in a short, straight...
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Orion (constellation) - Wikipedia  Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It was named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. Its brightest stars are Rigel (Beta Orionis) and Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), .... It is known as Shen , literally meaning "three", for the stars of Orion's Belt...
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Andromeda (constellation) - Wikipedia  Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Located north of the celestial equator, it is named for Andromeda, daughter ... Its brightest star, Alpha Andromedae, is a binary star that has also been counted as a part of...
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constellations stargazing stars gazing big dipper orion polaris | The ...  Do you enjoy stargazing? Here's help finding the different stars and constellations. ... Ancient people used Orion to predict the seasons: If it appeared at midnight, the grapes were ready to harvest. ..... The Big Dipper is visible from your location in Nigeria. ... For more like minded stuff come check out my science community at...
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Free Flashcards about ASTRONOMY - StudyStack  IT'S THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE CONSTELLATION URSA MAJOR, NORTH ... THE CLOSEST STAR TO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM LIES IN THIS SOUTHERN...
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Sky Walker: Rite of spring > The Harvard Press  May 12, 2016 ... This wheat is associated with Spica, or Alpha Virginis (meaning the brightest star in the region of Virgo); you can also picture Spica as our maiden's left hand. ... As the second star chart shows, Spica bounds Virgo from below; Arcturus ... went to great efforts to mark key astronomical moments of the year, the...
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Castor is six stars in one | Brightest Stars | EarthSky  Feb 17, 2016 ... Castor is one of two bright stars in the constellation Gemini the Twins. It appears as a single star, but it's actually a famous multiple star ... Castor and Pollux are sometimes called the twin stars, but you can ... Most alpha stars are the brightest in their constellations, but Castor is slightly fainter than Pollux.
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How far is Betelgeuse? | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky  Feb 5, 2016 ... Here's how it's done, and why astronomers recently modified the ... second-brightest in the constellation Orion the Hunter  in a popular blog ... that the angle must be very small, and the stars very, very far away! ... But it was enough to determine a distance of 11 light-years to a nearby star called 61 Cygni.
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Star Facts: The Basics of Star Names and Stellar Evolution  Dec 16, 2014 ... Learn how stars form, how stars and constellations are named, what happens ... Astronomers now often use constellations in the naming of stars. ... It is the brightest star in Orion, and its scientific name is Alpha Orionis. ... of interstellar gas and dustthe raw material for new star formation. ..... It's Triplets!
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Castor (star) - Wikipedia  Castor, also designated Alpha Geminorum is the second brightest star in the constellation of Gemini and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. ... Radial velocity (Rv), 1.2 km/s .... The combined apparent magnitude of all six stars is +1.58. ... All the red dwarfs in the Castor system have emissions lines in their spectra, and...