A group of stars united by one name. Constellations and the most remarkable facts about them

The night sky amazes with its beauty and countless number of heavenly fireflies. What is especially fascinating is that their arrangement is structured, as if they were specially placed in the right order, forming star systems. Since ancient times, stargazers have tried to count all these myriads of heavenly bodies and give them names. Today, a huge number of stars have been discovered in the sky, but this is only a small part of all existing vast Universe. Let's look at what constellations and luminaries there are.

In contact with

Stars and their classification

A star is a celestial body that emits enormous amounts of light and heat.

It consists mainly of helium (lat. Helium), as well as (lat. Hydrogenium).

The celestial body is in a state of equilibrium due to the pressure inside the body itself and its own.

Emits warmth and light as a result of thermonuclear reactions, occurring inside the body.

What types are there depending on life cycle and structures:

Main sequence. This is the main life cycle of the star. This is exactly what it is, as well as the vast majority of others.
Brown dwarf. A relatively small, dim object with a low temperature. The first one was opened in 1995.
White dwarf. At the end of its life cycle, the ball begins to shrink until its density balances gravity. Then it goes out and cools down.
Red giant. Huge body highlighting a large number of light, but not very hot (up to 5000 K).
New. New stars do not light up, just old ones flare up with renewed vigor.
Supernova. This is the same new one with the release of a large amount of light.
Hypernova. This is a supernova, but much larger.
Bright Blue Variables (LBV). The biggest and also the hottest.
Ultra X-ray sources (ULX). They release large amounts of radiation.
Neutron. Characterized by rapid rotation and a strong magnetic field.
Unique. Double, with different sizes.

Types depending from the spectrum:

Blue.
White and blue.
White.
Yellow-white.
Yellow.
Orange.
Red.

Important! Most of the stars in the sky are entire systems. What we see as one can actually be two, three, five or even hundreds of bodies of one system.

Names of stars and constellations

The stars have always fascinated us. They became the object of study, both from the mystical side (astrology, alchemy) and from the scientific side (astronomy). People looked for them, calculated them, counted them, put them into constellations, and also give them names. Constellations are clusters of celestial bodies located in a certain sequence.

In the sky, under certain conditions, up to 6 thousand stars can be seen from different points. They have their own scientific names, but about three hundred of them also have personal names that they received from ancient times. Stars mostly have Arabic names.

The fact is that when astronomy was actively developing everywhere, western world experienced the “dark ages”, so its development lagged significantly behind. Here Mesopotamia was most successful, China less so.

The Arabs not only discovered new but they also renamed the heavenly bodies, who already had Latin or Greek name. They went down in history with Arabic names. The constellations mainly had latin names.

Brightness depends on the light emitted, size and distance from us. The brightest star is the Sun. It is not the largest, not the brightest, but it is closest to us.

The most beautiful luminaries with the greatest brightness. The first among them:

Sirius (Alpha Canis Major);
Canopus (Alpha Carinae);
Toliman (Alpha Centauri);
Arcturus (Alpha Bootes);
Vega (Alpha Lyrae).

Naming periods

Conventionally, we can distinguish several periods in which people gave names to the heavenly bodies.

Pre-Antique period

Since ancient times, people have tried to “understand” the sky and gave the night luminaries names. No more than 20 names from those times have reached us. Scientists from Babylon, Egypt, Israel, Assyria and Mesopotamia worked actively here.

Greek period

The Greeks didn't really delve into astronomy. They gave names to only a small number of luminaries. Mostly, they took names from the names of the constellations or simply attributed existing names. All astronomical knowledge of ancient Greece, as well as Babylon, was collected Greek scientist Ptolemy Claudius(I-II centuries) in the works “Almagest” and “Tetrabiblos”.

Almagest (Great Construction) is the work of Ptolemy in thirteen books, where, based on the work of Hipparchus of Nicea (c. 140 BC), he tries to explain the structure of the Universe. He also lists the names of some of the brightest constellations.

Table of celestial bodies described in the Almagest

Name of the stars	Name of constellations	Description, location
Sirius	Big dog	Located in the mouth of the constellation. She is also called the Dog. The brightest of the night sky.
Procyon	Small dog	On the hind legs.
Arcturus	Bootes	Did not enter Bootes form. It is located below it.
Regulus	a lion	Located in the heart of Leo. Also called Tsarskaya.
Spica	Virgo	On the left hand. It has another name - Kolos.
Antares	Scorpion	Located in the middle.
Vega	Lyra	Located on the sink. Another name is Alpha Lyra.
Chapel	Auriga	Left shoulder. Also called - Goat.
Canopus	Ship Argo	On the keel of the ship.

Tetrabiblos is another work of Ptolemy Claudius in four books. The list of celestial bodies is supplemented here.

Roman period

The Roman Empire was engaged in the study of astronomy, but when this science began to actively develop, Rome fell. And behind the state, its science fell into decay. However, about a hundred stars have Latin names, although this does not guarantee that they were given names their scientists are from Rome.

Arab period

The fundamental work of the Arabs in the study of astronomy was the work of Ptolemy Almagest. They transferred most of it to Arabic. Based on the religious beliefs of the Arabs, they replaced the names of some of the luminaries. Names were often given based on the location of the body in the constellation. So, many of them have names or parts of names meaning neck, leg or tail.

Table of Arabic names

Arabic name	Meaning	Stars with Arabic names	Constellation
Ras	Head	Alpha Hercules	Hercules
Algenib	Side	Alpha Persei, Gamma Persei	Perseus
Menkib	Shoulder	Alpha Orionis, Alpha Pegasus, Beta Pegasus, Beta Aurigae, Zeta Persei, Phita Centauri	Pegasus, Perseus, Orion, Centaurus, Auriga
Rigel	Leg	Alpha Centauri, Beta Orionis, Mu Virgo	Centaurus, Orion, Virgo
Rukba	Knee	Alpha Sagittarius, Delta Cassiopeia, Upsilon Cassiopeia, Omega Cygnus	Sagittarius, Cassiopeia, Swan
Sheat	Shin	Beta Pegasus, Delta Aquarius	Pegasus, Aquarius
Mirfak	Elbow	Alpha Persei, Capa Hercules, Lambda Ophiuchus, Phita and Mu Cassiopeia	Perseus, Ophiuchus, Cassiopeia, Hercules
Menkar	Nose	Alpha Ceti, Lambda Ceti, Upsilon Crow	Keith, Raven
Markab	What moves	Alpha Pegasus, Tau Pegasus, Cape of Sails	Ship Argo, Pegasus

Renaissance

Since the 16th century in Europe, antiquity has been revived, and with it science. Arabic names did not change, but Arabic-Latin hybrids often appeared.

New clusters of celestial bodies were practically not discovered, but old ones were supplemented with new objects. A significant event of that time was the release of the starry atlas “Uranometry”.

Its compiler was the amateur astronomer Johann Bayer (1603). On the atlas he painted an artistic image of the constellations.

And most importantly, he suggested principle of naming luminaries with added letters Greek alphabet. The brightest body of the constellation will be called “Alpha”, the less bright “Beta” and so on until “Omega”. For example, the brightest star in Scorpii is Alpha Scorpii, the less bright Beta Scorpii, then Gamma Scorpii, etc.

Nowadays

With the advent of powerful ones, a huge number of luminaries began to be discovered. Now they are not allowed beautiful names, but simply assign an index with a digital and alphabetic code. But it happens that celestial bodies give personal names. They are called by names scientific discoverers, and now you can even buy the opportunity to name the luminary as you wish.

Important! The sun is not part of any constellation.

What are the constellations?

Initially, the figures were figures formed by bright luminaries. Nowadays scientists use them as landmarks of the celestial sphere.

The most famous constellations in alphabetical order:

Andromeda. Located in the northern hemisphere of the celestial sphere.
Twins. The brightest luminaries are Pollux and Castor. Zodiac sign.
Big Dipper. Seven stars forming the image of a ladle.
Big Dog. It has the brightest star in the sky - Sirius.
Scales. Zodiac, consisting of 83 objects.
Aquarius. Zodiac, with an asterism forming a jug.
Auriga. Its most outstanding object is the Chapel.
Wolf. Is in southern hemisphere.
Bootes. The brightest luminary is Arcturus.
Veronica's hair. Consists of 64 visible objects.
Crow. It is best seen in mid-latitudes.
Hercules. Contains 235 visible objects.
Hydra. The most important luminary is Alphard.
Pigeon. 71 bodies of the southern hemisphere.
Hound Dogs. 57 visible objects.
Virgo. Zodiac, with the brightest body - Spica.
Dolphin. Visible everywhere except Antarctica.
The Dragon. Northern hemisphere, practically a pole.
Unicorn. Located on the milky way.
Altar. 60 visible stars.
Painter. Includes 49 objects.
Giraffe. Faintly visible in the northern hemisphere.
Crane. The brightest is Alnair.
Hare. 72 celestial bodies.
Ophiuchus. The 13th sign of the zodiac, but not included in this list.
Snake. 106 luminaries.
Golden Fish. 32 objects visible to the naked eye.
Indian. Faintly visible constellation.
Cassiopeia. It's shaped like the letter "W".
Keel. 206 objects.
Whale. Located in the “water” zone of the sky.
Capricorn. Zodiac, southern hemisphere.
Compass. 43 visible luminaries.
Stern. Located on the milky way.
Swan. Located in the northern part.
A lion. Zodiac, northern part.
Flying fish. 31 objects.
Lyra. The brightest luminary is Vega.
Chanterelle. Dull.
Ursa Minor. Located above north pole. It has the North Star.
Small Horse. 14 luminaries
Small Dog. Bright constellation.
Microscope. South part.
Fly. At the equator.
Pump. Southern sky.
Square. Goes through Milky Way.
Aries. Zodiacal, having bodies Mezarthim, Hamal and Sheratan.
Octant. At the South Pole.
Eagle. At the equator.
Orion. Has a bright object - Rigel.
Peacock. Southern Hemisphere.
Sail. 195 luminaries of the southern hemisphere.
Pegasus. South of Andromeda. Its brightest stars are Markab and Enif.
Perseus. It was discovered by Ptolemy. The first object is Mirfak.
Bake. Almost invisible.
Bird of paradise. Located near the south pole.
Cancer. Zodiac, faintly visible.
Cutter. South part.
Fish. A large constellation divided into two parts.
Lynx. 92 visible luminaries.
Northern Crown. Crown shape.
Sextant. At the equator.
Net. Consists of 22 objects.
Scorpion. The first luminary is Antares.
Sculptor. 55 celestial bodies.
Sagittarius. Zodiac.
Calf. Zodiac. Aldebaran is the brightest object.
Triangle. 25 stars.
Toucan. This is where the Small Magellanic Cloud is located.
Phoenix. 63 luminaries.
Chameleon. Small and dim.
Centaurus. Its brightest star for us, Proxima Centauri, is the closest to the Sun.
Cepheus. Has the shape of a triangle.
Compass. Near Alpha Centauri.
Watch. It has an elongated shape.
Shield. Near the equator.
Eridanus. Big constellation.
South Hydra. 32 celestial bodies.
Southern Crown. Dimly visible.
Southern Fish. 43 objects.
South Cross. In the form of a cross.
Southern Triangle. Has the shape of a triangle.
Lizard. No bright objects.

What are the constellations of the Zodiac?

Zodiac signs - constellations through which the earth passes through throughout the year, forming a conditional ring around the system. Interestingly, there are 12 accepted zodiac signs, although Ophiuchus, which is not considered a zodiac, is also located on this ring.

Attention! There are no constellations.

By and large, there are no figures at all made up of celestial bodies.

After all, when we look at the sky, we perceive it as plane in two dimensions, but the luminaries are located not on a plane, but in space, at a huge distance from each other.

They do not form any pattern.

Let's say that light from Proxima Centauri, closest to the Sun, reaches us in almost 4.3 years.

And from another object of the same star system Omega Centauri - reaches the earth in 16 thousand years. All divisions are quite arbitrary.

Constellations and stars - sky map, interesting facts

Names of stars and constellations

Conclusion

It is impossible to calculate a reliable number of celestial bodies in the Universe. You can't even get close to exact number. Stars unite into galaxies. Our Milky Way galaxy alone numbers about 100,000,000,000. From Earth using the most powerful telescopes About 55,000,000,000 galaxies can be detected. With the advent Hubble telescope, which is in Earth's orbit, scientists have discovered about 125,000,000,000 galaxies, and each has billions, hundreds of billions of objects. What is clear is that there are at least a trillion trillion luminaries in the Universe, but this is only a small part of what is real.

Pleshakov developed good idea- create an atlas for children that will make it easy to identify stars and constellations. Our teachers picked up this idea and created their own atlas-identifier, which is even more informative and visual.

What are constellations?

If you look up into the sky on a clear night, you can see many sparkling lights of different sizes, like a scattering of diamonds, decorating the sky. These lights are called stars. Some of them seem to be collected in clusters and, upon prolonged examination, they can be divided into certain groups. Man called such groups “constellations.” Some of them may resemble the shape of a ladle or the intricate outlines of animals, however, in many respects this is just a figment of the imagination.

For many centuries, astronomers tried to study such clusters of stars and gave them mystical properties. People tried to systematize them and find general pattern, and that’s how the constellations appeared. For a long time, constellations were carefully studied, some were divided into smaller ones, and they ceased to exist, and some, after clarification, were simply adjusted. For example, the constellation Argo was divided into smaller constellations: Compass, Carina, Parus, Poop.

The history of the origin of the names of the constellations is also very interesting. To make it easier to memorize, they were given names united by one element or literary work. For example, it was noticed that during heavy rains The sun rises from the direction of certain constellations, which were given the following names: Capricorn, Whale, Aquarius, the constellation Pisces.

In order to bring all constellations to a certain classification, in 1930, at a meeting of the International Astronomical Union, it was decided to officially register 88 constellations. According to the decision taken constellations do not consist of groups of stars, but are sections of the starry sky.

What are the constellations?

Constellations vary in the number and brightness of the stars that make up them. The 30 most noticeable groups of stars are identified. The largest constellation in terms of area is Ursa Major. It consists of 7 bright and 118 stars visible to the naked eye.

The smallest constellation, located in the southern hemisphere, is called the Southern Cross and cannot be seen with the naked eye. It consists of 5 bright and 25 less visible stars.

Lesser Horse is the smallest constellation in the northern hemisphere and consists of 10 faint stars that can be seen with the naked eye.

The constellation Orion is considered the most beautiful and brightest. It consists of 120 stars visible to the naked eye, and 7 of them are very bright.

All constellations are conventionally divided into those located in the southern or northern hemisphere. Those who live in the southern hemisphere of the Earth cannot see star clusters located in the northern hemisphere and vice versa. Of the 88 constellations, 48 are in the southern hemisphere, and 31 are in the northern hemisphere. The remaining 9 groups of stars are located in both hemispheres. The Northern Hemisphere is easily identified by the North Star, which always shines very brightly in the sky. She is the extreme star on the handle of the Ursa Minor dipper.

Due to the fact that the Earth rotates around the Sun, which prevents some constellations from being seen, the seasons change and the position of this star in the sky changes. For example, in winter the location of our planet in its circumsolar orbit is opposite to that in summer. Therefore, at each time of the year you can only see certain constellations. For example, in summer period In the night sky you can see a triangle formed by the stars Altair, Vega and Deneb. IN winter time There is an opportunity to admire the infinitely beautiful constellation Orion. That’s why they sometimes say: autumn constellations, winter, summer or spring constellations.

Constellations are best seen in summer time and it is advisable to observe them on open space, outside the city. Some stars can be seen with the naked eye, while others may require a telescope. The constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, as well as Cassiopeia, are best visible. In autumn and winter, the constellations Taurus and Orion are clearly visible.

Bright constellations that are visible in Russia

The most beautiful constellations of the northern hemisphere visible in Russia include: Orion, Ursa Major, Taurus, Canis Major, Canis Minor.

If you look closely at their location and give free rein to your imagination, you can see a hunting scene, which, like an ancient fresco, has been depicted in the sky for more than two thousand years. The brave hunter Orion is always depicted surrounded by animals. Taurus runs to his right, and the hunter swings his club at him. At Orion’s feet are the faithful Canis Major and Canis Minor.

Constellation Orion

This is the largest and most colorful constellation. It is clearly visible in autumn and winter. Orion can be seen over the entire territory of Russia. The arrangement of its stars resembles the outline of a person.

The history of the formation of this constellation originates from ancient Greek myths. According to them, Orion was a brave and strong hunter, the son of Poseidon and the nymph Emvriala. He often hunted with Artemis, but one day, for defeating her during a hunt, he was struck by the goddess’s arrow and died. After death, he was turned into a constellation.

Orion's brightest star is Rigel. She is 25 thousand times brighter than the sun and 33 times its size. This star has a bluish-white glow and is considered supergiant. However, despite such impressive dimensions, it is significantly smaller than Betelgeuse.

Betelgeuse decorates right shoulder Orion. It is 450 times larger than the diameter of the Sun and if we put it in the place of our star, then this star will take the place of four planets before Mars. Betelgeuse shines 14,000 times brighter than the Sun.

The constellation Orion also includes nebulae and asterisms.

Constellation Taurus

Another big and unimaginable beautiful constellation Northern Hemisphere is Taurus. It is located northwest of Orion and is located between the constellations Aries and Gemini. Not far from Taurus there are such constellations as: Auriga, Cetus, Perseus, Eridanus.

This constellation in mid-latitudes can be observed throughout almost the entire year, with the exception of the second half of spring and early summer.

The history of the constellation dates back to ancient myths. They talk about Zeus turning into a calf in order to kidnap the goddess Europa and bring her to the island of Crete. This constellation was first described by Eudoxus, a mathematician who lived long before our era.

The brightest star not only of this constellation, but also of the other 12 groups of stars is Aldebaran. It is located on the head of Taurus and was previously called the “eye”. Aldebaran is 38 times the diameter of the Sun and 150 times brighter. This star is located 62 light years away from us.

The second brightest star in the constellation is Nat or El-Nat (the horns of the bull). It is located near Auriga. It is 700 times brighter than the Sun and 4.5 times larger.

Within the constellation there are two incredibly beautiful open clusters of stars, the Hyades and the Pleiades.

The age of the Hyades is 650 million years. They can be easily found in the starry sky thanks to Aldebaran, which is clearly visible among them. They include about 200 stars.

The Pleiades got its name from its nine parts. Seven of them are named after the seven sisters Ancient Greece(Pleiades), and two more - in honor of their parents. The Pleiades are very visible in winter. They include about 1000 stellar bodies.

An equally interesting formation in the constellation Taurus is the Crab Nebula. It was formed after a supernova explosion in 1054 and was discovered in 1731. The distance of the nebula from the Earth is 6500 light years, and its diameter is about 11 light years. years.

This constellation belongs to the Orion family and borders the constellations Orion, Unicorn, Canis Minor, and Hare.

The constellation Canis Major was first discovered by Ptolemy in the second century.

There is a myth according to which the Great Dog used to be Lelap. It was a very fast dog that could catch up with any prey. One day he chased a fox, which was not inferior to him in speed. The outcome of the race was a foregone conclusion, and Zeus turned both animals to stone. He placed the dog in heaven.

The constellation Canis Major is very visible in winter. The brightest star not only of this, but also of all other constellations is Sirius. It has a bluish luster and is located quite close to Earth, at a distance of 8.6 light years. In terms of brightness in our solar system, it is surpassed by Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon. Light from Sirius takes 9 years to reach Earth and is 24 times stronger than the sun. This star has a satellite called "Puppy".

The formation of such a concept as “Holidays” is associated with Sirius. The fact is that this star appeared in the sky during the period summer heat. Since Sirius is translated from Greek as “canis,” the Greeks began to call this period vacation.

Constellation Canis Minor

Canis Minor borders on such constellations as: Unicorn, Hydra, Cancer, Gemini. This constellation represents an animal that, together with Big Dog follows the hunter Orion.

The history of the formation of this constellation, if we rely on myths, is very interesting. According to them, Canis Minor is Mera, the dog of Icaria. This man was taught how to make wine by Dionysus and the drink turned out to be very strong. One day his guests decided that Ikaria had decided to poison them and killed him. The mayor was very sad for his owner and soon died. Zeus placed it in the form of a constellation in the starry sky.

This constellation is best observed in January and February.

The brightest stars in this constellation are Porcyon and Gomeisa. Porcyon is located 11.4 light years from Earth. It is somewhat brighter and hotter than the Sun, but physically differs little from it.

Gomeiza is visible to the naked eye and glows with a blue-white light.

Constellation Ursa Major

Ursa Major, shaped like a ladle, is one of the three largest constellations. It is mentioned in the writings of Homer and in the Bible. This constellation is very well studied and has great importance in many religions.

It borders with such constellations as: Waterfall, Leo, Canes Venatici, Dragon, Lynx.

According to ancient Greek myths, the Big Dipper is associated with Callisto, a beautiful nymph and lover of Zeus. His wife Hera turned Callisto into a bear as punishment. One day, this bear came across Hera and her son, Arcas, with Zeus in the forest. To avoid tragedy, Zeus turned his son and nymph into constellations.

The big ladle is formed by seven stars. The most striking of them are three: Dubhe, Alkaid, Aliot.

Dubhe is a red giant and points to the North Star. It is located 120 light years from Earth.

Alkaid, the third brightest star in the constellation, expresses the end of the tail Ursa Major. It is located 100 light years away from Earth.

Alioth is the brightest star in the constellation. She represents the tail. Because of its brightness, it is used in navigation. Alioth shines 108 times brighter than the Sun.

These constellations are the brightest and most beautiful in the northern hemisphere. They can be perfectly seen with the naked eye in autumn or frosty weather. winter night. The legends of their formation allow your imagination to run wild and imagine how the mighty hunter Orion, together with his faithful dogs runs after the prey, and Taurus and Ursa Major watch him carefully.

Russia is located in the northern hemisphere, and in this part of the sky we are able to see only a few of all the constellations existing in the sky. Depending on the time of year, only their position in the sky changes.

To planetarium lecture-goers who craned their necks to see the stars projected above their heads, I used to repeat: “If you can’t see the Big Dipper overhead, don’t worry. sees".

Ancient people divided the sky into imaginary figures, such as Ursa Major, Cygnus, Perseus and Andromeda. Each figure corresponded to a certain configuration of stars. Although, to be honest, for most people Andromeda does not at all resemble the silhouette of a chained girl or anything else like that (Fig. 1.2).

Rice. 1.2. Is Andromeda chained?

Today the sky is divided into 88 constellations, which include all visible stars. The International Astronomical Union, the highest governing body in astronomy, defines the boundaries of constellations so that there is a clear distinction as to which constellation each star belongs to. Previously, sky maps were drawn by different astronomers who did not adhere to common standards. But it doesn't have to be that way. When you read that the Tarantula Nebula is located in the Dorado constellation (details in Chapter 12), you know that you need to look for it in the Dorado constellation, located in the Southern Hemisphere.

The largest constellation is Hydra, and the smallest is the Southern Cross. There is actually a Northern Cross, but you won't find it in the list of constellations because it is an asterism in the constellation Cygnus. There is general agreement on the names of the constellations, but there is no agreement on what each name means. For example, some astronomers call the constellation Doradus "Swordfish", but I am in favor of rejecting this name. And the constellation Serpens is divided into two disconnected parts located on both sides of the constellation Ophiuchus - the Head of the Serpent (Serpens Caput) and the Tail of the Serpent (Serpens Cauda).

Individual stars in a constellation are usually not connected in any way, they just appear to be located nearby from Earth. Some stars may be located relatively close to Earth, while others may be at much greater distances. But for an observer from Earth they form a certain pattern.

As a rule, everyone bright stars in the constellation, the ancient Greeks or astronomers of later times assigned some Greek letter. The brightest star in any constellation is usually called "alpha" (the first letter of the Greek alphabet). The second brightest star is called "beta" (the second letter of the Greek alphabet), etc.

That's why Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky - which is in the constellation Canis Major - is called Alpha Canis Majoris. (Astronomers add endings to names to get the Latin Genitive. What can you do, scientists have always loved Latin.) In the table. 1.1 shows a list of letters of the Greek alphabet in order - the names of the letters and their corresponding symbols.

But if you look at the constellations today, it becomes clear that the order of brightness of the stars does not always exactly correspond to the Greek letters indicated on the star map. These exceptions are caused by the following.

Letters were assigned based on naked eye observations, which are not very accurate.

Many of the smaller constellations and constellations of the Southern Hemisphere were mapped not during the time of Ancient Greece, but much later, so the previous rules were not always followed.

Many centuries after the ancient Greeks, the brightness of some stars changed.

An example is the constellation Vulpecula, in which only one star is assigned a Greek letter (alpha).

Astronomers don't have special names, such as Sirius, for each star in the constellation Canis Major, so they simply name them with Greek letters or other symbols. In fact, there are constellations in which there is not a single named star. (Do not “buy” advertising that offers to name a star for a certain amount of money. The International Astronomical Union does not recognize “purchased” star names.) In other constellations, the stars were assigned Greek letters, but it turned out that there were more than 24 easily distinguishable stars in them, And greek letters wasn't enough. Therefore, astronomers have assigned numbers and letters of the Latin alphabet to many stars: for example, 236 Cygni, b Vulpeculae, HR 1516, etc. There are even stars called RU Lupi and SX Sex (honestly, I mean that I didn’t make it up at all). But like any other stars, they can be identified not by their names, but by their position in the sky (indicated in astronomical tables), brightness, color and other characteristics.

If you look in a star atlas, you will see that individual stars in the constellation are not marked as d. When in some astronomical magazine you read about a star that is proposed in the list of objects to observe, then most likely it will not be mentioned either as Alpha Canis Majoris, not even as Cma; "Cma" is an abbreviation of Canis Majoris. Abbreviated designations of constellations are given in table. 1.2.

Because alpha is not always the brightest star in a constellation, another term is needed to describe the "high" status of the brightest star. This term - lucida(lucida). Lucida Canis Major - Sirius (in this case - simply 46 Leo Minoris).

In table 1.2 lists 88 constellations, their brightest stars and the magnitudes of the latter. Magnitude is a measure of the brightness of a star. (We'll talk about magnitudes a little later in the section "Smaller is Brighter: What is Magnitude.") If a constellation's lucida coincides with its alpha and it has a name, I'll just give it. For example, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga is Capella, aka

Identifying stars would be much easier if, like conference delegates, they had little name tags that could be seen through a telescope.

The most noticeable and well-known constellation to everyone without exception is, of course, the Big Dipper. Or rather, what is clearly visible in the night sky is not itself, but part of it - the Big Dipper. If you look closely, you can see several more stars below and to the right of it, making up the paws and head of the Ursa. The shape of this constellation is really very interesting. After all, no one has ever seen bears with such long tails.

The most visible part of the constellation

The number of bright stars in the Ursa Major bucket is known to everyone. There are exactly seven of them. These stars were named by Arab astronomers back in the Middle Ages. To our ears their “names” actually sound strange:

Merak.
Mizar.
Fegda.
Megrets.
Dubge.
Alioth.
Benetnash.

From the earth, these stars appear equidistant. In fact, this is far from the case. The number of bright stars in the Ursa Major bucket is seven and all of them are not at equal distances from the Earth and the Sun.

Benetnash is located closest to our planet. Do - Aliot - sixty However, she looks brighter than Benetnash. This is the brightest and most brilliant object of the Bucket. In terms of the apparent intensity of the emitted light, all the stars in this part of the Big Dipper are close to stars of the second magnitude.

If you look very closely at one of the stars of the Bucket - Mizar, you can notice a faint flicker right next to it. This is explained very simply. Mizar - no ordinary star, but double.

The object located right next to it is called Alcor. From Arabic these two words are translated as “Horse” and “Rider”. Alcor and Mizar are one of the most visible double stars from Earth.

The number of bright stars in the Ursa Major bucket is seven. However, if you look at it through binoculars or a telescope, you can see two more small smears of light. Unlike stars, they look fuzzy and blurry. This is what distant galaxies look like from Earth. Located inside the Ursa are called Whirlpool and Pinwheel.

Big Dipper Rotation

Any schoolchild knows that our Earth does not stand still. Due to its movement, the stars in the sky seem to rotate. Kovsh is no exception in this regard. In winter and autumn, Ursa Major is located in the northern part of the night sky, not too high from the horizon. In spring and summer, this most noticeable constellation can be seen almost at the zenith. Moreover, at this time of year the Big Dipper looks upside down.

Celestial Compass

So, the number of bright stars in the Ursa Major bucket is exactly seven. Two of them can serve as reference points for those on the move. The fact is that it is easy to find the most famous star world - Polar. This is not difficult to do. You just need to draw an imaginary line along the two outer stars of the Ladle bowl. Next, you should measure approximately the distance between them. The North Star itself is located almost above the northernmost pole.

In ancient times, when there were no navigational instruments yet, it served as a guide for all sailors and travelers. So, if you suddenly find yourself in a difficult situation in an unfamiliar area, look at the constellation Ursa Major. The polar star found from it will show you the way to the north. This small and not too bright celestial object has rescued those lost in the taiga, desert or sea more than once. The North Star leads Ursa Major's closest neighbor, Ursa Minor. The location of both of these “animals” is considered circumpolar according to the classification of astronomers.

How many stars are there in Ursa Major?

Of course, there is much more to this itself than to its most visible part, the Bucket. On this moment about 125 of them are known. This is over a hundred bright objects, against the background of which the Sun would look like a small and dim luminous point. The closest star to Earth, unfortunately, is not even visible to the naked eye. It also doesn't have a name. According to astronomical classification, it passes as a 7.5 m star. Light from it travels approximately 8.25 years to Earth. This is almost twice as much as from the closest star to us - Alpha Centauri. Thus, the answer to the question of how many stars are in Ursa Major is simple - more than a hundred and not all of them are visible without a telescope or binoculars. To see in the Bucket wild beast With long tail, in fact, you need to have a fairly rich imagination.

The Legend of Ursa Major

Of course, there simply cannot be many different kinds of myths and legends about such noticeable objects of the night sky as the stars of the constellation Ursa Major. The most famous legend about her was invented by the Greeks. The chroniclers of this ancient country say that once upon a time the king of Arcadia had an extraordinary beautiful daughter Callisto. And this girl was so proud of her attractiveness that she dared to compete with Hera herself, the wife of Zeus. The enraged goddess, using her mystical power, of course, took revenge on the proud woman, turning her into a bear. Callisto's son Arcas, who was returning from a hunt at that time, saw a wild beast at the door of the palace and decided to kill it. However, at the last moment he was stopped by Zeus himself, who was not indifferent to the beauty. After being rescued, Callisto was raised to heaven. The stars of the Ursa Major bucket are what she is. At the same time supreme god raised the beauty's beloved dog to heaven. Nowadays she is known under the name Ursa Minor.

Nearest constellations

The stars in the constellation Ursa Major, or rather in its Bucket, are the most noticeable in the night sky. However, in addition to Ursa Minor, there are several other famous constellations in the area. The same Polar Star can become a reference point for finding one of them. Behind it, on the opposite side from the Big Dipper, at approximately the same distance, flaunts Cassiopeia, familiar to many by name. Outwardly it looks like the Russian letter “M”. At certain positions of the Earth, Cassiopeia “turns over” and takes the form of a Latin W.

Between it and Ursa Minor you can see a not so noticeable, but also well-known. It does not have a clearly visible form. Between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor it is easy to see the wriggling Dragon. The chain of its stars is easily connected on the map by a broken line.

Well, we hope we have answered the main question of the article about how many luminous permanent objects there are in Ursa Major. There are only seven of them in Kovsh. The main constellation includes about 125 distant “suns”.

Constellations are guides that have accompanied man since ancient times. People could use them to navigate their way. Once upon a time, constellations were those figures that formed stars among themselves. Now that's what they call it certain territories celestial sphere. In 1930, the official number of constellations was fixed - 88. Of this number, 47 were discovered and described before our era. But the names they were given then are still used today.

Number of stars in visible parts of the sky

A group of stars united by one name is called a constellation. Thanks to the observations of astronomers, it was possible to find out that their location in the sky is gradually changing. The night sky creates the illusion of stars randomly located near each other. There are about 3 thousand stars in its visible part, and about 6 thousand in the entire sky.

How did groups of stars get their names?

For ancient astronomers, a group of stars united by one name served to make it easier to find less bright luminaries. Bright stars were united into certain groups. Usually they received the names of certain animals. For example, Scorpio, Dog. Also a group of stars united common name, could have received a name in honor of one of the heroes of ancient myths - for example, the constellations Perseus, Andromeda and others were named that way. Since the beginning of the 18th century, the brightest stars of some constellations began to be named by letters of the Greek alphabet. In addition, about 130 more individual bright stars received their names. And for luminaries of lower brightness, researchers still use letter designations to this day.

Observing the constellations

The surrounding world, stars and constellations will be especially interesting to the attentive observer. If you watch the night sky for several hours, you can see how the entire celestial sphere, including the stars, moves smoothly, as if rotating around an invisible axis. This type of movement is called diurnal. The luminaries in the firmament move from left to right. The stars, like the Moon and the Sun, rise in the east. His maximum height they reach in the southern part. Sunset occurs from the west.

The largest constellation in the sky

The most large group stars, united by one name - it is located in the southern hemisphere. The name of this constellation is translated from Latin language means "water snake". Hydra was discovered by the ancient Greek scientist Ptolemy in the 2nd century BC. e. There is a well-known myth according to which the constellation Hydra is identified with the snake brought to the god Apollo by a raven: the constellation Raven is also located next to Hydra. According to myth, Apollo sent the Raven to fetch water. water snake The raven offered as an apology for returning too late. The ancient Greek god was very angry and in a rage threw the bird, cup and snake into the sky, where they turned into the constellations - Raven, Crater and Hydra.

Another majestic group of stars united by one name is the constellation Orion. It is believed that it is no less beautiful than the constellation Ursa Major. In the night sky it is very easy to detect by the so-called “Orion’s belt” - three blue-white stars located slightly at an angle in one row. If you draw an imaginary line through the "Orion's belt", then its lower end will point to the brightest luminary of the night sky - the star Sirius. Around these three stars are brighter stars, as well as the cosmic Orion Nebula. It can be easily seen even with binoculars. Orion's brightest star is Betelgeuse, whose name means "armpit" in Arabic.

Zodiac constellations

The universality of the names of the stars and constellations around which the Sun makes its visible annual path is called the Zodiac. There are thirteen such constellations in total, but researchers use twelve of them according to the number of months in the year. The division of the sky into 12 spheres appeared in ancient Babylon in the 5th century BC. e. Many people associate the Zodiac primarily with astrology. But in fact, the signs of the Zodiac belong to the realm of astronomy. These constellations lie on the ecliptic line, along which the Sun makes visible travel 365 days a year. It lingers near each constellation for approximately the time we call a month.

Pleiades constellation

For everyone, the answer to the question “What is the name of a group of stars united by one name?” Astronomers group celestial bodies into groups called constellations. But scientists sometimes make serious mistakes in estimating the size of these. An example of this is the idea of the Pleiades constellation. It was once believed that there were only 7 stars in this group. The ancient Slavs called them differently: “Seven Sisters”, “Stozhars” and so on.

But at present, both foreign and domestic astronomers know that there are not seven Pleiades in the sky. This cluster contains thousands of stars, of which only fourteen are visible to the human eye. They originated from the same molecular cloud. These stars are close to each other in composition and age. Scientists believe that the Pleiades cluster is about 115 million years old. This constellation can be easily observed in the latitudes of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The Pleiades are near solar system. Flying to this constellation is 410 light years.

The bright constellation Centaurus

And the closest to the solar system is the constellation Centaurus. It is in it that humanity hopes to find fellow humans. This cluster consists of only three stars: Centauri A, Centauri B and Alpha Centauri are 2 billion years older than the Solar System. The light that these stars emit takes 4.3 years to reach an observer on Earth. This is where the closest star to the Sun is located - Proxima Centauri. However, after 9 thousand years this place will be taken by Barnard, belonging to the constellation Ophiuchus. was also discovered by Ptolemy. It was named after a centaur - half horse, half man. The constellation Centaurus is very bright and is one of the largest in the sky.