- 23 June 2020
Check out our 7 essential tips to get the best out of your night as a budding stargazer. Would you like to explore the stars, but you don’t know where to start? Then read more.
Read the full article- 22 April 2020
Ready to give your mom a brilliant Mother’s Day star gift this year, but don’t know which constellation to choose? Why not pick a constellation that you can view together! Learn about the constellations best seen around Mother’s Day 2020 in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.
Read the full article- 13 February 2020
Epsilon Pegasi is also known as Enif from the Arabic word meaning ‘nose’, due to its position in the Pegasus constellation. Historically this star was referred to by other names in other cultures. Its traditional name is derived from Fom al Feras, which is Latinised to Os Equi. In the Asian culture this star is called Wei Su, meaning ‘Rooftop’ in reference to Pegasus.
Read the full article- 29 January 2020
Epsilon Canis Majoris is also known as Adhara, an Arabic word meaning ‘virgins’. It’s the second brightest star in Canis Major and 24th overall in the night sky. However, 4.7 million years-ago Adhara was actually the most luminous in the sky. No other star has ever been this bright, nor is one expected to be for at least five million years.
Read the full article- 24 January 2020
Epsilon Boötiis is also known as Izar from the Arabic word meaning ‘veil’ and Pulcherrima which is Latin for ‘the loveliest’. In 1973 a Scottish astronomer and science fiction writer, Duncan Lunan, said he interpreted a message from the 1920s probe orbiting the Moon. He claimed the message was sent to the probe from the inhabitants of a planet orbiting Epsilon Bootis.
Read the full article- 15 January 2020
Denebola is from the Arabic language meaning, ‘the lion’s tail’, which is in the constellation of Leo. In the Ancient Chinese culture, their astronomers gave Denebola the first star designation in the five-star asterism ‘Seat of the Five Emperors’. In astrology, Denebola was believed to bring misfortune and disgrace. It’s also 15 times brighter than the Sun.
Read the full article- 8 January 2020
Deneb is from the Latin language meaning ‘tail’, and is one of the largest white stars known today. It is also called Alpha Cygni and is a blue-white supergiant with 20 solar masses and 200 times the radius of the Sun. After a few million years Deneb’s core will collapse producing a supernova. In Chinese mythology Deneb is the bridge of magpies a Princess crosses.
Read the full article- 23 December 2019
Castor is from the Latin language meaning ‘beaver’. Castor is actually made up of six stars with three pairs of binary stars being all gravitationally bound to each other. The mythology surrounding Castor dates back to the early Greeks. They believed that Castor and his brother, Pollux were ‘half’ twins. The boys were also alleged to have sailed with Jason and the Argonauts.
Read the full article- 16 December 2019
Capella is a four-star system made up of two pairs of binary stars. Historically and mythologically, Capella is a bit of a mystery. Richard Hinkley Allen from Star Names tells us the ancient Arabs referred to Capella as ‘the Driver’ or a shepherd driving his flock of sheep across the night sky with the nearby Pleiades being construed as large animals.
Read the full article- 9 December 2019
Canopus is suspected to be nearing the end of its life cycle even though it is considerable young. Its mass is 65 times that of the Sun and shines with the luminosity of 14,000 suns. In fact, this star is so large if it were placed in the middle of the solar system it would reach 90 percent of the way to Mercur.
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