Betelgeuse Coordinates: 05h 55m 10.3053s, +07° 24′ 25.426″ The star is classified as a red supergiant of spectral type M2Iab and is one of the largest and most luminous observable stars. If Betelgeuse were at the center of the Solar System, its surface would extend past the asteroid belt, possibly to the orbit of Jupiter and beyond, wholly engulfing Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. In 1920, Betelgeuse became the second star (after the Sun) to have the angular size of its photosphere measured. Observational history[edit] Nascent discoveries[edit] The variation in Betelgeuse's brightness was first described in 1836 by Sir John Herschel, when he published his observations in Outlines of Astronomy. In 1920, Albert Michelson and Francis Pease mounted a 6-meter interferometer on the front of the 2.5-meter telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory. Imaging breakthroughs[edit] Recent studies[edit] Visibility[edit] Parallax[edit]
Sirius Sirius appears bright because of both its intrinsic luminosity and its proximity to Earth. At a distance of 2.6 parsecs (8.6 ly), as determined by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite,[5][19][20] the Sirius system is one of Earth's near neighbors; for Northern-hemisphere observers between 30 degrees and 73 degrees of latitude (including almost all of Europe and North America), it is the closest star (after the Sun) that can be seen with the naked eye. Sirius is gradually moving closer to the Solar System, so it will slightly increase in brightness over the next 60,000 years. After that time its distance will begin to recede, but it will continue to be the brightest star in the Earth's sky for the next 210,000 years.[21] Sirius A is about twice as massive as the Sun and has an absolute visual magnitude of 1.42. It is 25 times more luminous than the Sun[7] but has a significantly lower luminosity than other bright stars such as Canopus or Rigel. Observational history[edit] Kinematics[edit]
Rigel Although Rigel has the Bayer designation "beta", it is almost always brighter than Alpha Orionis (Betelgeuse). Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars are classified.[13] Visibility[edit] Rigel is the third most inherently luminous first magnitude star after Deneb and Betelgeuse. Rigel has a color index (B–V) of −0.03, meaning it appears white or lightly blue-white.[citation needed] Culminating at midnight on December 12, and at 9 pm on January 24, Rigel is most visible in winter evenings in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern.[15] In the southern hemisphere, Rigel is the first bright star of Orion visible as the constellation rises.[16] Properties[edit] Rigel is a variable supergiant, the variability being caused by stellar pulsations similar to those of Deneb, the prototype of the class of Alpha Cygni pulsating stars. Space photometry[edit] Computer generated image of Rigel compared to the Sun (to scale)
Cygnus (constellation) Cygnus contains Deneb, one of the brightest stars in the night sky and one corner of the Summer Triangle, as well as some notable X-ray sources and the giant stellar association of Cygnus OB2. One of the stars of this association, NML Cygni, is one of the largest stars currently known. The constellation is also home to Cygnus X-1, an distant X-ray binary containing a supergiant and unseen massive companion that was the first object widely held to be a black hole. Many star systems in Cygnus have known planets as a result of the Kepler Mission observing one patch of the sky, the patch is the area around Cygnus. Cygnus as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825. Surrounding it are Lacerta, Vulpecula and Lyra. In Polynesia, Cygnus was often recognized as a separate constellation. Cygnus culminates at midnight on 29 June, and is most visible in the evening from the early summer to mid-autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.[7]
Orion Nebula The Orion Nebula is one of the most scrutinized and photographed objects in the night sky, and is among the most intensely studied celestial features.[8] The nebula has revealed much about the process of how stars and planetary systems are formed from collapsing clouds of gas and dust. Astronomers have directly observed protoplanetary disks, brown dwarfs, intense and turbulent motions of the gas, and the photo-ionizing effects of massive nearby stars in the nebula. Physical characteristics[edit] Discussing the location of the Orion Nebula, what is seen within the star-formation region, and the effects of interstellar winds in shaping the nebula. Amateur image of the Orion Nebula taken with a DSLR camera. The constellation of Orion with the Orion Nebula (lower middle). The nebula is visible with the naked eye even from areas affected by some light pollution. Coloration[edit] Observers have long noted a distinctive greenish tint to the nebula, in addition to regions of red and of blue-violet.
Is NASA Covering Up the 100-Year Starship? - FoxNews.com NASA appears to be debating a way to permanently colonize another planet, boldly going where no one has ever gone -- and where no one could come back, some fear.Paramount A NASA official may have made a 35-million-mile slip of the tongue. The director of NASA's Ames Research Center in California casually let slip mention of the 100-Year Starship recently, a new program funded by the super-secret government agency, DARPA. In a talk at San Francisco's Long Conversation conference, Simon “Pete” Worden said DARPA has $1M to spend, plus another $100,000 from NASA itself, for the program, which will initially develop a new kind of propulsion engine that will take us to Mars or beyond. There's only one problem: The astronauts won't come back. The 100-year ship would leave Earth with the intention of colonizing a planet, but it would likely be a one-way trip because of the time it takes to travel 35 million miles. But what is the Hundred Year Starship? Dr.
Messier 43 Messier 43 (also known as M43, De Mairan's Nebula, and NGC 1982) is an H II region in the Orion constellation. It was discovered by Jean-Jacques Dortous de Mairan before 1731. The De Mairan's Nebula is part of the Orion Nebula, separated from the main nebula by a lane of dust. Coordinates: 05h 35.6m 00s, −05° 16′ 00″ Alien City Lights Could Signal E.T. Planets | Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence & Civilizations | Artificial Lights on Alien Planets Astronauts in orbit around the Earth often gaze down on a world lit at night by city lights. Now researchers suggest that scientists could detect alien civilizations from similarly bright lights. Science fiction has long imagined entire planets covered with cities. Assuming that aliens need light to see at night much as we do, theoretical astrophysicist Abraham Loeb at Harvard University and astronomer Edwin Turner at Princeton University reasoned that extraterrestrial civilizations would switch on city lights during the hours of darkness on their world. "Both Ed and I were attending a conference in Abu Dhabi about novel ways to detect life, and we had a tour guide on a trip to the nearby emirate of Dubai who bragged that it was so bright at night that you could see it easily from space — that's what gave us the idea," Loeb told Astrobiology Magazine. Decline of radio Outer solar system searches "There are other things we could discover from such a search," Loeb said.
Messier 78 M78 is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula of a group of nebulae that include NGC 2064, NGC 2067 and NGC 2071. This group belongs to the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex and is about 1,600 light years distant from Earth. M78 is easily found in small telescopes as a hazy patch and involves two stars of 10th magnitude. These two stars, HD 38563A and HD 38563B, are responsible for making the cloud of dust in M78 visible by reflecting their light. About 45 variable stars of the T Tauri type, young stars still in the process of formation as well as some 17 Herbig–Haro objects are known in M78. See also[edit] Messier 78 in fiction External links[edit] Coordinates: 05h 46.7m 00s, +00° 03′ 00″
Alien Civilizations in Universe Introduction This calculation is just a rough one because galaxies vary a lot. There are also things called globular clusters that can contain hundreds of thousands of stars. I will be talking about type 0, type 1, type 2 and type 3 civilizations here. Kardashev scale civilizations, type 0,1,2,3 civilizations and beyond Shortened link to video: ⊗ Kardashev scale civilizations, type 0,1,2,3 civilizations and beyond [our possible future, video + music]: The Number of Civilizations in Our Galaxy & the Universe To calculate the numbers of advanced alien civilizations in a galaxy that want to communicate with us we use a thing called the Drake Equation. I have seen a few worrying directions to the Fermi Paradox. In one scenario if we discover life on other planets in our solar system it would be bad news for up since it means a “filter” (of extinction) lies ahead of us. I don’t agree with either of these ideas. ☉ Quick snap shot of the life cycle of our sun Summary