- 18 August 2016
Cassiopeia is named after the Queen in Greek mythology who was very vain, arrogant and boastful. This constellation can be located in the first quadrant of the Northern hemisphere and is located specifically between latitudes of +90° and -20°. Cassiopeia was first catalogued in the 2nd century by, Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer.
Read the full article- 12 August 2016
Carina is derived from the Latin language and means “the keel (of a ship).” This constellation was once a part of a larger one called, Arvo Navis, which contained the constellations of Puppis (“the stern”) and Vela (“the sails”) before they were divided into their own constellations. Carina can be located in the second quadrant of the Southern hemisphere and is located specifically between latitudes of +20° and -90°.
Read the full article- 11 August 2016
Alpha Ursae Majoris has a traditional name, Dubhe, which is derived from Arabic (Dubb) meaning ‘the bear’. This star can be found in the constellation of Ursa Major and is located on the top tip of the Big Dipper’s bowl. It has four times the mass of the Sun and 16 times its diameter. It is also considered a spectroscopic binary.
Read the full article- 5 August 2016
Alpha Phoenicis is also called Ankaa which is derived from Arabic meaning ‘the phoenix’ and also sometimes as Nair al-Zaurak meaning ‘the bright star of the skiff’. It is the 85th brightest star in the night sky shining with 80 times the luminosity of the Sun. Petrus Plancius, a Dutch astronomer, was the first to catalogue this star in the 16th century.
Read the full article- 3 August 2016
Capricornus means “the goat” in Latin. It can be found in the fourth quadrant of the Southern hemisphere and is located specifically between latitudes of +60° and -90°. Like all the Zodiac signs, Capricorn was first catalogued in the 2nd century by Ptolemy, who was a Greek astronomer.
Read the full article- 29 July 2016
Alpha Persei is also called Mirfak and is considered the star marking ‘the elbow’ of the constellation Perseus. It is approximately 60 times the size of the Sun and has 7.3 solar masses. In fact, if Mirfak was situated where the Sun is from Earth, it would cover several thousand times more sky.
Read the full article- 28 July 2016
Canis Minor is derived from the Latin language and means “the lesser or smaller dog.” It represents the smaller dog following the hunter Orion. It can be found in the second quadrant of the Northern hemisphere and is located specifically between latitudes of +90° and -75°. Along with other constellations, Canis Minor was first catalogued in the 2nd century by the Greek astronomer, Ptolemy.
Read the full article- 21 July 2016
Canis Major is derived from the Latin language and means “the greater dog,” representing the bigger dog following Orion. It can be found in the second quadrant of Southern hemisphere and is located specifically between latitudes of +60° and -90°. This constellation was also catalogued by the Greek astronomer, Ptolemy, in the 2nd century.
Read the full article- 20 July 2016
Alpha Pegasi is also know as Marak or Marchab which means ‘the saddle of the horse’ in Arabic. It is the third brightest star in the constellation Pegasus and one of the four stars in the asterism ‘Great Square of Pegasus’. Alpha Pegasi is very hot and has expanded to almost five times the radius of the Sun.
Read the full article- 14 July 2016
Canes Venatici is derived from the Latin language and means “hunting dogs,” representing the hunting dogs of the herdsman in the Bootes constellation. It can be found in the third quadrant of the Northern hemisphere and is located specifically between latitudes of +90° and -40°. This constellation is also home to the famous Cor Caroli and La Superba stars.
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