Astronomy Facts – Planets, Stars, Constellations And Other Astronomy Trivia

How many astronomy facts can you think of? Realize that the universe contains one times 10 to the 22nd stars, that’s a one followed by a string of 22 zeros. Think about this, there are planets orbiting many of those stars. Then consider the moons that surround the planets, the asteroids, the nebula, the galaxies, and all the other stuff the universe contains. That’s a lot of data and facts and figures. This short discussion won’t cover everything. But it will be a lot of fun. How about the brightest stars as seen from Earth? Those are good astronomy facts. Let’s ignore the sun, it’s too close. We get so much light from the sun that when it shines none of the other stars can be seen. In a the brightness scale we’ll use, lower numbers are brighter. In the scale we’ll use the sun is 26.73, and the moon is -12.6. With that in mind, here are the top 5. #5 is the Arabic word for eagle or vulture, Vega. This star has a magnitude of .03, and is 25 light-years from Earth. Overall, for this discussion of astronomy facts, .

the truly brightest star may not appear to be so from her. The sun is only a moderately bright star, but because of its proximity to the Earth it appears to be so bright. #4 goes to Rigel Kentaurus, or foot of the centaur. It scores a magnitude of -.01, and is only 4 light-years from Earth. At #3, by the known astronomy facts is Arcturus. The name means guardian of the bear in Greek. Arcturus is 37 light-years from Earth. Canopus sits at number two. In reality it’s the brightest of all of these top five stars. But because of its distance, 313 light-years from Earth, it only appears to be second brightest. From earth its magnitude is -.62. #1 is the Greek word for scorching, Sirius. Sirius is also known as the Dog Star because it’s the brightest star in the constellation of Big Dog. It’s only 9 light years from Earth. That’s second closest of these top five. But from Earth it has a magnitude of -1.44. That makes it easily the brightest star as seen in the night sky. There are many more astronomy facts out there. But consider it next time you see the stars in the night sky.

Make sure you stay up to date with your Astronomy News and return often to read more articles at astronomy online on astronomy facts or other astronomy related topics.