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Centaurus: Difference between revisions
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Centaurus contains several very bright stars because of its position in theMilky Way; in addition, its alpha and beta stars are used to find the constellation Crux. The constellation has 281 stars above magnitude 6.5, meaning that they are visible to the unaided eye, the most of any constellation. Alpha Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, has a high proper motion; it will be a mere half-degree from Beta Centauri in approximately 4000 years. Alpha Centauri is a triple star system that contains Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun. In addition to Alpha Centauri (the 3rd brightest star in the sky), a second first magnitude star, Beta Centauri, is part of Centaurus. Also called Hadar and Agena, Beta Centauri is a double star; the primary is a blue-hued giant star of magnitude 0.6, 525 light-years from Earth.ω Centauri (NGC 5139), despite being listed as the constellation's "omega" star, is in fact a naked-eye globular cluster, located at a distance of 17,000 light-years with a diameter of 150 light-years. It is the largest and brightest globular cluster in the Milky Way, at ten times the size of the next-largest cluster.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurus Centaurus]]</ref> | Centaurus contains several very bright stars because of its position in theMilky Way; in addition, its alpha and beta stars are used to find the constellation Crux. The constellation has 281 stars above magnitude 6.5, meaning that they are visible to the unaided eye, the most of any constellation. Alpha Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, has a high proper motion; it will be a mere half-degree from Beta Centauri in approximately 4000 years. Alpha Centauri is a triple star system that contains Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun. In addition to Alpha Centauri (the 3rd brightest star in the sky), a second first magnitude star, Beta Centauri, is part of Centaurus. Also called Hadar and Agena, Beta Centauri is a double star; the primary is a blue-hued giant star of magnitude 0.6, 525 light-years from Earth.ω Centauri (NGC 5139), despite being listed as the constellation's "omega" star, is in fact a naked-eye globular cluster, located at a distance of 17,000 light-years with a diameter of 150 light-years. It is the largest and brightest globular cluster in the Milky Way, at ten times the size of the next-largest cluster.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurus Centaurus]]</ref> | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||