|
Delta Eridani
Delta Eridani, which is Latinized from δ Eridani, is a star in the equatorial constellation of Eridanus. The star is visible to the naked eye and has been observed to vary in slightly brightness between magnitudes 3.51 and 3.56, although subsequent observations did not bear this out. It is relatively near to the Sun, with a distance of about 29.5 light years as determined from parallax. The star is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −6 km/s. Delta Eridani is sometimes called Rana: ''Rana'' means "the frog" in Latin, but derivation of this name is uncertain. The name was approved by the International Astronomic Union on 4 April 2022. Structure The stellar classification of this star is K0 IV, matching a subgiant star that has exhausted its core hydrogen. This has caused the star to expand and become cooler than a comparable main sequence star. Stellar modelling indicates it is near the end of the subgiant stage and about to transition in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eridanus (constellation)
Eridanus () is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is represented as a river. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is the sixth largest of the modern constellations, and the one that extends farthest in the sky from north to south. The same name was later taken as a Latin name for the real Po River and also for the name of a minor river in Athens. Features Stars At its southern end is the magnitude 0.5 star Achernar, designated Alpha Eridani. It is a blue-white hued main sequence star 144 light-years from Earth, whose traditional name means "the river's end". Achernar is a very peculiar star because it is one of the flattest stars known. Observations indicate that its radius is about 50% larger at the equator than at the poles. This distortion occurs because the star is spinning extremely rapidly. There are several other noteworthy stars in Eridanus, includin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Star
A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same surface temperature.Giant star, entry in ''Astronomy Encyclopedia'', ed. Patrick Moore, New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. . They lie above the main sequence (luminosity class V in the Yerkes spectral classification) on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram and correspond to luminosity classes II and III.giant, entry in ''The Facts on File Dictionary of Astronomy'', ed. John Daintith and William Gould, New York: Facts On File, Inc., 5th ed., 2006. . The terms ''giant'' and ''dwarf'' were coined for stars of quite different luminosity despite similar temperature or spectral type by Ejnar Hertzsprung about 1905. Giant stars have radii up to a few hundred times the Sun and luminosities between 10 and a few thousand times that of the Sun. Stars still more luminous than giants are referred to as supergiants and hypergiants. A hot, luminous main-seque ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eta Eridani
Eta Eridani (η Eridani, abbreviated Eta Eri, η Eri), officially named Azha (with a silent 'h', possibly ), is a giant star in the constellation of Eridanus. Based on parallax measurements taken during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 137 light-years from the Sun. Nomenclature ''η Eridani'' ( Latinised to ''Eta Eridani'') is the star's Bayer designation. It bore the traditional name ''Azha'', from the old Arab asterism نَعَام أُدْحِيّ ''udḥiyy al-naʽām'' "the ostrich nest" (or "hatching place"), which included Eta Eridani. The first word, ادحى ''udḥiyy'', was miscopied as ازحى (readable as ''azḥā'') in medieval manuscripts. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name ''Azha'' for this star on 12 September 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names. In Chinese, (), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeta Eridani
Zeta Eridani (ζ Eridani, abbreviated Zeta Eri, ζ Eri) is a binary star in the constellation of Eridanus. With an apparent visual magnitude of 4.80, it is visible to the naked eye on a clear dark night. Based on parallax measurements taken during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 110 light-years from the Sun. Zeta Eridani is the primary or 'A' component of a multiple star system designated WDS J03158-0849 (the secondary or 'B' component is 14 Eridani). Zeta Eridani's two components are therefore designated WDS J03158-0849 Aa and Ab. Aa is formally named Zibal , the traditional name for the system. Nomenclature ''ζ Eridani'' ( Latinised to ''Zeta Eridani'') is the binary star's Bayer designation. WDS J03158-0849 A is its designation in the Washington Double Star Catalog. The designations of the two components as WDS J03158-0849 Aa and Ab derive from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for multiple star systems, and adopted b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epsilon Eridani
Epsilon Eridani ( Latinized from ε Eridani), formally named Ran, is a star in the southern constellation of Eridanus, at a declination of 9.46° south of the celestial equator. This allows it to be visible from most of Earth's surface. At a distance of from the Sun, it has an apparent magnitude of 3.73. It is the third-closest individual star or star system visible to the unaided eye. The star is estimated to be less than a billion years old. Because of its relative youth, Epsilon Eridani has a higher level of magnetic activity than the present-day Sun, with a stellar wind 30 times as strong. Its rotation period is 11.2 days at the equator. Epsilon Eridani is smaller and less massive than the Sun, and has a comparatively lower level of elements heavier than helium. It is a main-sequence star of spectral class K2, which means that energy generated at the core through nuclear fusion of hydrogen is emitted from the surface at a temperature of about , giving it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pi Eridani
Pi Eridani, Latinized from π Eridani, is a star in the constellation Eridanus. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.40, which is bright enough to be seen on a dark, clear night. Based upon parallax measurements, it is located roughly 480 light years from the Sun. This is an evolved red giant star with a stellar classification of M1 III, and is currently on the asymptotic giant branch. It is a slow irregular variable type LB that can increase in magnitude up to 4.38. The measured angular diameter of this star is . At the estimated distance of Pi Eridani, this yields a physical size of about 77 times the radius of the Sun. It shines with 1,123 times the luminosity of the Sun from an outer atmosphere at an effective temperature The effective temperature of a body such as a star or planet is the temperature of a black body that would emit the same total amount of electromagnetic radiation. Effective temperature is often used as an estimate of a body's surf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamma Eridani
Gamma Eridani (γ Eridani, abbreviated Gamma Eri, γ Eri), formally named Zaurak , is a variable star in the constellation of Eridanus. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude that varies around 2.9, and lies at a distance of about 203 light years from the Sun, as determined by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite. Description Gamma Eridani has been defined as a standard star for the spectral class M0III-IIIb. It is a red giant on the asymptotic giant branch, fusing hydrogen and helium in separate shells outside its core. Observations published in 1960 showed it to vary in brightness by a few hundredths of a magnitude. In 1977, it was officially listed as a variable star in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars although the class of variable is uncertain. Nomenclature ''Gamma Eridani'' is the star's Bayer designation. It has the traditional name ''Zaurak'', alternatively spelled Zaurac, which is Arabic for 'boat'. In 2016, the Int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asterism (astronomy)
An asterism is an observed pattern or group of stars in the sky. Asterisms can be any identified pattern or group of stars, and therefore are a more general concept than the formally defined 88 constellations. Constellations are based on asterisms, but unlike asterisms, constellations outline and today completely divide the sky and all its celestial objects into regions around their central asterisms. For example, the asterism known as the Big Dipper comprises the seven brightest stars in the constellation Ursa Major. Another is the asterism of the Southern Cross, within the constellation of Crux. Asterisms range from simple shapes of just a few stars to more complex collections of many stars covering large portions of the sky. The stars themselves may be bright naked-eye objects or fainter, even telescopic, but they are generally all of a similar brightness to each other. The larger brighter asterisms are useful for people who are familiarizing themselves with the night sky. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hairy Head (Chinese Constellation)
The Hairy Head mansion (昴宿, pinyin: Mǎo Xiù) is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger. This mansion corresponds to the Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance of ... in English. Asterisms {{DEFAULTSORT:Hairy Head (Chinese Constellation) Chinese constellations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Astronomy
Astronomy in China has a long history stretching from the Shang dynasty, being refined over a period of more than 3,000 years. The ancient Chinese people have identified stars from 1300 BCE, as Chinese star names later categorized in the twenty-eight mansions have been found on oracle bones unearthed at Anyang, dating back to the mid-Shang dynasty. The core of the "mansion" (宿 ''xiù'') system also took shape around this period, by the time of King Wu Ding (1250–1192 BCE). Detailed records of astronomical observations began during the Warring States period (fourth century BCE) and flourished from the Han period onward. Chinese astronomy was equatorial, centered on close observation of circumpolar stars, and was based on different principles from those in traditional Western astronomy, where heliacal risings and settings of zodiac constellations formed the basic ecliptic framework. Joseph Needham has described the ancient Chinese as the most persistent and accurat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interferometry
Interferometry is a technique which uses the '' interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber optics, engineering metrology, optical metrology, oceanography, seismology, spectroscopy (and its applications to chemistry), quantum mechanics, nuclear and particle physics, plasma physics, remote sensing, biomolecular interactions, surface profiling, microfluidics, mechanical stress/strain measurement, velocimetry, optometry, and making holograms. Interferometers are devices that extract information from interference. They are widely used in science and industry for the measurement of microscopic displacements, refractive index changes and surface irregularities. In the case with most interferometers, light from a single source is split into two beams that travel in different optical paths, which are then combined again to prod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Projected Rotational Velocity
Stellar rotation is the angular motion of a star about its axis. The rate of rotation can be measured from the spectrum of the star, or by timing the movements of active features on the surface. The rotation of a star produces an equatorial bulge due to centrifugal force. As stars are not solid bodies, they can also undergo differential rotation. Thus the equator of the star can rotate at a different angular velocity than the higher latitudes. These differences in the rate of rotation within a star may have a significant role in the generation of a stellar magnetic field. The magnetic field of a star interacts with the stellar wind. As the wind moves away from the star its rate of angular velocity slows. The magnetic field of the star interacts with the wind, which applies a drag to the stellar rotation. As a result, angular momentum is transferred from the star to the wind, and over time this gradually slows the star's rate of rotation. Measurement Unless a star is being obs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
