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Camelopardalis
Camelopardalis is a large but faint constellation of the northern sky representing a giraffe. The constellation was introduced in 1612 or 1613 by Petrus Plancius. Some older astronomy books give Camelopardalus or Camelopardus as alternative forms of the name, but the version recognized by the International Astronomical Union matches the genitive form, seen suffixed to most of its key stars. Etymology First attested in English in 1785, the word ''camelopardalis'' comes from Latin, and it is the romanization of the Greek "καμηλοπάρδαλις" meaning "giraffe", from "κάμηλος" (''kamēlos''), "camel" + "πάρδαλις" (''pardalis''), " spotted", because it has a long neck like a camel and spots. Features Stars Although Camelopardalis is the 18th largest constellation, it is not a particularly bright constellation, as the brightest stars are only of fourth magnitude. In fact, it only contains four stars brighter than magnitude 5.0. * α Cam is a blue-hued su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpha Camelopardalis
Alpha Camelopardalis, Latinized from α Camelopardalis, is a star in the northern constellation of Camelopardalis. With an apparent visual magnitude of 4.3, it is the third-brightest star in this not-very-prominent circumpolar constellation; the first and second-brightest stars being Beta Camelopardalis and CS Camelopardalis, respectively. It is the farthest constellational star, with a distance of approximately 6,000 light-years from Earth based on parallax measurements. Description Alpha Camelopardalis has a stellar classification of O9 Ia, with the 'Ia' indicating that it is an O-type luminous supergiant. It is a massive star with 37.6 times the mass of the Sun and 32.5 times the Sun's radius. The effective temperature of the outer envelope is 29,000 K; much hotter than the Sun's effective temperature of 5,778 K, giving it the characteristic blue hue of an O-type star. It is emitting 676,000 times the luminosity of the Sun and is a weak X-ray emitter. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
12 Camelopardalis
12 Camelopardalis is a binary star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Camelopardalis, located 700 light years away from the Sun as determined from parallax measurements. It forms a double star with 11 Camelopardalis, which is only 3 arcminutes away. The system has the variable star designation BM Camelopardalis; ''12 Camelopardalis'' is the Flamsteed designation. It is just visible to the naked eye, appearing as a dim, orange-hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of 6.08. The system is moving closer to the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of −2 km/s. Abt et al. (1969) determined this to be a single-lined spectroscopic binary system and computed an orbital solution with a period of 80.17 days and an eccentricity of 0.35. However, what appeared to be an ellipticity effect with a period of was found, which was inconsistent with the computed orbit, and the lack of modulation of the amplitude did not fit with the large or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
11 Camelopardalis
11 Camelopardalis is a single star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Camelopardalis, located around 690 light years away from the Sun as determined by parallax. It has the variable star designation BV Camelopardalis; ''11 Camelopardalis'' is the Flamsteed designation. This object is visible to the naked eye as a faint, blue-white hued star with a baseline apparent visual magnitude of +5.22. It forms a double star with 12 Camelopardalis, which is only 3 arcminutes away. This is a main sequence Be star with a stellar classification of B3 Ve. Samus et al. (2017) classify it as a Be variable, rather than a Gamma Cassiopeiae type, and it ranges from a peak Hipparcos magnitude of 5.10 down to 5.22. The star is spinning with a projected rotational velocity of 95 km/s, but is being viewed from an extreme pole-on position. Hence it is spinning much more rapidly than indicated. Outbursts of hydrogen emission lines have been observed, as well as rapid c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beta Camelopardalis
Beta Camelopardalis, Latinised from β Camelopardalis, is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Camelopardalis. It is bright enough to be faintly visible to the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 4.02. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 3.74 mas as seen from Earth, it is located roughly 870 light-years from the Sun. It is moving closer with a radial velocity of −1.90 km/s and is most likely a single star. This is a yellow-hued G-type supergiant/bright giant with a stellar classification of G1 Ib–IIa. It is an estimated 60 million years old and is spinning with a projected rotational velocity of 11.7 km/s. This is an unusually high rate of rotation for an evolved star of this type. One possible explanation is that it may have engulfed a nearby giant planet, such as a hot Jupiter. Beta Camelopardalis has 6.5 times the mass of the Sun and has expanded to around 58 the Sun's radius. The star is radiatin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gliese 445
Gliese 445 (Gl 445 or AC +79 3888) is an M-type main sequence star in the northern part of the constellation Camelopardalis. Location It is currently 17.1 light-years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 10.8. It is visible from north of the Tropic of Cancer all night long, but not to the naked eye. Because the star is a red dwarf with a mass only a quarter to a third of that of the Sun, scientists question the ability of this system to support life. Gliese 445 is also a known X-ray source. The ''Voyager 1'' probe and Gliese 445 will pass one another within 1.6 light-years in about 40,000 years. By that time Gliese 445 will be in a part of the sky different from its present location. The probe will no longer be operational. Solar encounter While the Voyager probe moves through space towards a 1.6-light-year minimum distance from Gliese 445, the star is rapidly approaching the Sun. At the time the probe passes Gliese 445, the star will be about 1.059 pars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perseus (constellation)
Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, being named after the Greek mythological hero Perseus. It is one of the 48 ancient constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and among the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It is located near several other constellations named after ancient Greek legends surrounding Perseus, including Andromeda to the west and Cassiopeia to the north. Perseus is also bordered by Aries and Taurus to the south, Auriga to the east, Camelopardalis to the north, and Triangulum to the west. Some star atlases during the early 19th century also depicted Perseus holding the disembodied head of Medusa, whose asterism was named together as ''Perseus et Caput Medusae''; however, this never came into popular usage. The galactic plane of the Milky Way passes through Perseus, whose brightest star is the yellow-white supergiant Alpha Persei (also called Mirfak), which shines at magnitude ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giraffe
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardalis'', with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into up to eight extant species due to new research into their mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements. Seven other extinct species of ''Giraffa'' are known from the fossil record. The giraffe's chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones, and its spotted coat patterns. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Its scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ursa Major
Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa Minor, the lesser bear. In antiquity, it was one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD, drawing on earlier works by Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian, and Assyrian astronomers. Today it is the third largest of the 88 modern constellations. Ursa Major is primarily known from the asterism of its main seven stars, which has been called the " Big Dipper," "the Wagon," "Charles's Wain," or "the Plough," among other names. In particular, the Big Dipper's stellar configuration mimics the shape of the " Little Dipper." Two of its stars, named Dubhe and Merak ( α Ursae Majoris and β Ursae Majoris), can be used as the navigational pointer towards the place of the current northern pole star, Polaris in Ursa Mino ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynx (constellation)
Lynx is a constellation named after the animal, usually observed in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere. The constellation was introduced in the late 17th century by Johannes Hevelius. It is a faint constellation, with its brightest stars forming a zigzag line. The orange giant Alpha Lyncis is the brightest star in the constellation, and the semiregular variable star Y Lyncis is a target for amateur astronomers. Six star systems have been found to contain planets. Those of 6 Lyncis and HD 75898 were discovered by the Doppler method; those of XO-2, XO-4, XO-5 and WASP-13 were observed as they passed in front of the host star. Within the constellation's borders lie NGC 2419, an unusually remote globular cluster; the galaxy NGC 2770, which has hosted three recent Type Ib supernovae; the distant quasar APM 08279+5255, whose light is magnified and split into multiple images by the gravitational lensing effect of a foreground galaxy; and the Lynx Supercluster, which was the mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giraffe
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardalis'', with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into up to eight extant species due to new research into their mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements. Seven other extinct species of ''Giraffa'' are known from the fossil record. The giraffe's chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones, and its spotted coat patterns. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Its scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ursa Minor
Ursa Minor (Latin: 'Lesser Bear', contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation located in the far northern sky. As with the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, hence the North American name, Little Dipper: seven stars with four in its bowl like its partner the Big Dipper. Ursa Minor was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Ursa Minor has traditionally been important for navigation, particularly by mariners, because of Polaris being the north pole star. Polaris, the brightest star in the constellation, is a yellow-white supergiant and the brightest Cepheid variable star in the night sky, ranging in apparent magnitude from 1.97 to 2.00. Beta Ursae Minoris, also known as Kochab, is an aging star that has swollen and cooled to become an orange giant with an apparent magnitude of 2.08, only slightly fainter t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassiopeia (constellation)
Cassiopeia () is a constellation in the northern sky named after the vain queen Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda, in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivaled beauty. Cassiopeia was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. It is easily recognizable due to its distinctive ' W' shape, formed by five bright stars. Cassiopeia is located in the northern sky and from latitudes above 34°N it is visible year-round. In the (sub)tropics it can be seen at its clearest from September to early November, and at low southern, tropical, latitudes of less than 25°S it can be seen, seasonally, low in the North. At magnitude 2.2, Alpha Cassiopeiae, or Schedar, is generally the brightest star in Cassiopeia, though it is occasionally outshone by the variable Gamma Cassiopeiae, which has reached magnitude 1.6. The constellation hosts some of the most luminous stars known, including the ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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