Monoceros
Monoceros ( Greek: , "unicorn") is a faint constellation on the celestial equator. Its definition is attributed to the 17th-century cartographer Petrus Plancius. It is bordered by Orion to the west, Gemini to the north, Canis Major to the south, and Hydra to the east. Other bordering constellations include Canis Minor, Lepus, and Puppis. Features Stars Monoceros contains only a few fourth magnitude stars, making it difficult to see with the naked eye. Alpha Monocerotis has a visual magnitude of 3.93, while for Gamma Monocerotis it is 3.98. Beta Monocerotis is a triple star system; the three stars form a fixed triangle. The visual magnitudes of the stars are 4.7, 5.2, and 6.1. William Herschel discovered it in 1781 and called it "one of the most beautiful sights in the heavens". Epsilon Monocerotis is a fixed binary, with visual magnitudes of 4.5 and 6.5. S Monocerotis, or 15 Monocerotis, is a bluish white variable star and is located at the center of NGC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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V838 Monocerotis
V838 Monocerotis (Nova Monocerotis 2002) is a Cataclysmic variable star, cataclysmic binary star in the constellation Monoceros (constellation), Monoceros about 19,000 light years (6 parsec, kpc) from the Sun. The previously unremarked star was observed in early 2002 experiencing a major outburst, and was one of the List of largest known stars, largest known stars for a short period following the outburst. Originally believed to be a typical nova eruption, it was then identified as the first of a new class of eruptive variables known as luminous red novae. The reason for the outburst is still uncertain, but is thought to have been a merger of two stars within a triple system. The eruption occurred on one of two B3 main sequence stars in a close binary orbit. The erupting star appeared as an unusually cool supergiant and for a while engulfed its companion. By 2009 the temperature of the supergiant had increased (since 2005) to 3,270 K and its luminosity was 15,000 times sol ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Beta Monocerotis
Beta Monocerotis (Beta Mon, β Monocerotis, β Mon) is a triple star system in the constellation of Monoceros. To the naked eye, it appears as a single star with an apparent visual magnitude of approximately 3.74, making it the brightest visible star in the constellation. A telescope shows a curved line of three pale blue stars (or pale yellow stars, depending on the scope's focus). William Herschel who discovered it in 1781 commented that it is "one of the most beautiful sights in the heavens". The star system consists of three Be stars, β Monocerotis A, β Monocerotis B, and β Monocerotis C. There is also an additional visual companion star that is probably not physically close to the other three stars. System The three stars of β Monocerotis lie approximately in a straight line. Component B is 7" from component A, and component C a further 3" away. The stars have a common proper motion across the sky a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ross 614
Ross 614 (V577 Monocerotis) is a red dwarf UV Ceti flare star and it is the primary member of a nearby binary star system in the constellation of Monoceros (constellation), Monoceros. It is among the List of nearest stars, nearest stars at a measured distance of about 13.4 light years, but despite this close distance, is invisible to the naked eye, being of apparent magnitude 11. Because this star is so close to the Earth it is often the subject of study, hence the large number of designations by which it is known. Binary star system This binary star system consists of two closely spaced low-mass red dwarfs. The secondary star is a dim apparent magnitude, magnitude 14 lost in the glare of the nearby primary star. A study by George Gatewood in 2003 using older sources along with data from the Hipparcos satellite yielded an orbital period of about 16.6 years and a semi-major axis separation of about 1.1 arc seconds (2.4–5.3 AU). The most recent determination of the sys ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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S Monocerotis
S Monocerotis, also known as 15 Monocerotis, is a massive multiple and variable star system located in the constellation Monoceros. It is the brightest star in the Christmas Tree open cluster in the area catalogued as NGC 2264. S Monocerotis is found within an open cluster and the Washington Double Star Catalog lists many companion stars. The closest and brightest is S Mon B, magnitude 7.8 and 3 arcseconds away. It is classified as B2 main sequence star with a mass of . Designated component C is an 11th-magnitude B8V star. The cluster contains another dozen or so 9th and 10th magnitude stars and many fainter stars. S Monocerotis A is a spectroscopic binary system with an eccentric orbit of about 112 years. Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as the MK standard for O7 by which other stars are classified. It is also an irregular variable star with a range of less than a tenth of a magnitude. The orbital parameters can be used to derive the masses of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Epsilon Monocerotis
ε Monocerotis, Latinised as Epsilon Monocerotis, is the Bayer designation of a binary star system in the equatorial constellation Monoceros. Its location is a guide for sky navigation toward the Rosette Nebula. The white-hued primary component has a stellar classification of A5 IV, suggesting it is an aging subgiant star. Its apparent magnitude is 4.39 and it is approximately 122 light years away based on parallax. It is reportedly a spectroscopic binary with a period around 331 days. The B component, at a separation of around 12.3", is a yellow-white hued F-type main-sequence star An F-type main-sequence star (F V) is a main-sequence, hydrogen-fusing star of spectral type F and luminosity class V. These stars have from 1.0 to 1.4 times the mass of the Sun and surface temperatures between 6,000 and 7,600 K.Tables ... of class F5 V and an apparent magnitude of 6.72. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Epsilon Monocerotis A-type subgiants F-type mai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gamma Monocerotis
γ Monocerotis, Latinised as Gamma Monocerotis, is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Monoceros. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 6.55 mas, it is located roughly 500 light years from the Sun. It can be viewed with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 3.96. Gamma Monocerotis is moving away from the Sun with a radial velocity of −5 km/s. This is an evolved K-type giant star with a stellar classification of . The Ba0.3 suffix indicates this is a mild barium star, which means the spectrum displays abnormal abundance of s-process elements, including barium. These were deposited by an orbiting companion as it passed through the asymptotic giant branch stage. The companion is now a white dwarf A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NGC 2264
NGC 2264 is the designation number of the New General Catalogue that identifies two astronomical objects as a single object: the Cone Nebula, and the Christmas Tree Cluster. Two other objects are within this designation but not officially included, the Snowflake Cluster, and the Fox Fur Nebula. All of the objects are located in the Monoceros constellation and are located about 720 parsecs or 2,300 light-years from Earth. Due to its relative proximity and large size, it is extremely well-studied. NGC 2264 is sometimes referred to as the Christmas Tree Cluster and the Cone Nebula. However, the designation of NGC 2264 in the New General Catalogue refers to both objects and not the cluster alone. Structure NGC 2264 is the location where the Cone Nebula, the Stellar Snowflake Cluster and the Christmas Tree Cluster have formed in this emission nebula. For reference, the Stellar Snowflake Cluster is located 2,700 light years away in the constellation Monoceros. The Snowflake Cluste ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alpha Monocerotis
Alpha Monocerotis, Latinised from α Monocerotis, is the Bayer designation for the brightest star in the equatorial constellation of Monoceros. It can be viewed with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 3.94. Based upon an annual parallax shift of as seen from Earth, it is located 146 light-years away from the Sun. The star is moving away from the Sun with a radial velocity of +11.7 km/s. The stellar classification of indicates this is an evolved giant star of type G, which means the hydrogen has been depleted at its core and the outer envelope has expanded and cooled. The 'Fe−0.5' notation indicates the spectrum displays a slight underabundance of iron relative to other stars of this temperature. It is a red clump giant, which means it is generating energy through helium fusion at its core. At the age of 890 million years, this yellow-hued star has an estimated 2.2 times the mass of the Sun and 10 times the Sun's radius Solar radius is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Canis Minor
Canis Minor is a small constellation in the Celestial sphere, northern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included as an Asterism (astronomy), asterism, or pattern, of two stars in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and it is counted among the Lists of constellations, 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "lesser dog", in contrast to Canis Major, the "greater dog"; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion (constellation), Orion the hunter. Canis Minor contains only two stars brighter than the fourth apparent magnitude, magnitude, Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris), with a magnitude of 0.34, and Gomeisa (Beta Canis Minoris), with a magnitude of 2.9. The constellation's dimmer stars were noted by Johann Bayer, who named eight stars including Alpha and Beta, and John Flamsteed, who numbered fourteen. Procyon is the List of brightest stars, eighth-brightest star in the night sky, as well as one of the List of nearest stars, close ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Petrus Plancius
Petrus Plancius (; born Pieter Platevoet ; 1552 – 15 May 1622) was a Dutch- Flemish astronomer, cartographer and clergyman. Born, in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders, he studied theology in Germany and England. At the age of 24 he became a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church. Plancius fled from Brussels to Amsterdam to avoid religious persecution by the Inquisition after the city fell into Spanish hands in 1585. In Amsterdam he became interested in navigation and cartography and, having access to nautical charts recently brought from Portugal, he was soon recognized as an expert on safe maritime routes to India and the nearby "spice islands". This enabled colonies and port trade in both, including what would become the Dutch East Indies, named after the Dutch East India Company set up in 1602. He saw strong potential in the little-mapped Arctic Sea and strongly believed in the idea of a Northeast Passage until the failure of Willem Barentsz's third vo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years or so been depicted as a white horse- or goat-like animal with a long straight horn with spiraling grooves, cloven hooves, and sometimes a goat's beard. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was commonly described as an extremely wild forest, woodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace, which could be captured only by a virgin. In encyclopedias, its horn was described as having the power to render poisoned water potable and to heal sickness. In medieval and Renaissance times, the tusk of the narwhal was sometimes sold as a unicorn horn. A bovine type of unicorn is thought by some scholars to have been depicted in Indus seal, seals of the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, Indus Valley civilization ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Orion (constellation)
Orion is a prominent set of stars visible during winter in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the IAU designated constellations, 88 modern constellations; it was among :Constellations listed by Ptolemy, the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. It is named after Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology. Orion is most prominent during winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, as are five other constellations that have stars in the Winter Hexagon asterism (astronomy), asterism. Orion's two brightest stars, Rigel (β) and Betelgeuse (α), are both among the List of brightest stars, brightest stars in the night sky; both are supergiants and slightly variable star, variable. There are a further six stars brighter than magnitude 3.0, including three making the short straight line of the Orion's Belt asterism (astronomy), asterism. Orion also hosts the radiant (meteor shower), radiant of the annual Orionids, the strongest meteor shower as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |