The sky, mysterious and alluring, has always attracted man. In periods when knowledge was not enough to explain certain phenomena in the Cosmos, they were credited with mythical, and sometimes magical properties. In the vastness of the universe, on the stars, man settled his gods.
The celestial bodies became the basis of the mythology of many peoples of the Earth. Poems were dedicated to the stars, and science fiction writers inhabited them with bizarre and mysterious creatures. Artists depicted landscapes of incredible and large-scale space disasters.
And even today the vastness of the Universe is not fully understood. How many of us have not looked into the starry night sky, trying to understand what is so attractive in these shimmering little dots? But in fact, these points are thousands, tens and hundreds of thousands of times larger than our mother Earth.
Stars are different in size, in the way they are formed, and in their behavior in the Universe. Some travel lonely through outer space, others have their own planets and rotate them in orbits around themselves. Some stars have long been gone, but their light is still visible to us. But all of them are amazing and unique.
From the whole variety of objects of the vast Galaxy, we consider the most amazing, beautiful and very unusual stars.
1
Betelgeuse
In the photo: Comparative sizes of Betelgeuse and the Sun.
One of the most mysterious stars in outer space, Betelgeuse is located in the constellation Orion. Because of this, she is also called Orion.
The red supergiant has more than 8 names in different languages of the world, but today the world has adopted the generally accepted translation from the Arabic language of Yad al-Jawz - “The Hand of the Twin”.
A bright star is reluctant to share its secrets with astronomers. One of the amazing processes taking place with her is a decrease in the diameter of the star. During the observation of Betelgeuse, she “lost weight” by 15%, decreasing from 5.5 to 4.5 astronomical units. Its size is now about 1,000 times the size of the Sun.
Scientists predict that in the future this star will have an explosion, and perhaps, dropping the planetary nebula of Orion, will become a white dwarf. If such an explosion happens in the near future, then most-beauty promises you a very beautiful sight, because Betelgeuse will be visible in the light of day. Scientists cannot give any information about when the star explodes, but it can happen at any second.
2
Achernar
The brightest star in the distant constellation of Eridanus. In addition, of all the bright stars, Achernar is also the bluest and hottest star in the endless expanses of Cosmos. It is about 10 times the size of our star.
Achernar is located at the very end of the constellation, and perhaps because in ancient times received the name "End of the River." The star is often mentioned in the works of science fiction writers.
Achernar, or Eridanus in astronomy guides is a double star. It has a flattened shape due to its rapid rotation around its axis, and the speed of its orbit is about 300 km per second.
This blue star, which is a thousand times brighter than our Sun, has a satellite. For 14-15 earth years, this satellite makes a complete revolution around Eridan.
3
SN 1987A
A supernova that flares up at a fairly close distance from Earth, about 168 thousand light-years away. The light of the outbreak that occurred on the outskirts of the Tarantula nebula did not reach our planet until 1987.
It is noteworthy that the flash, which reached a peak in brightness in May 1987, could be observed with the naked eye.
The beauty of SN 1987A is given by two dim rings. They are symmetrically located in outer space at the site of the explosion of the predecessor star - the blue super giant Sanduleak. When cooling, the carbon, silicon and oxygen atoms located in the rings will bind to each other, forming molecules and dust. Astronomers are closely monitoring the scene of the explosion. But so far, neither a neutron star nor a black hole have been discovered by scientists.
4
Procyon A
In the photo: Comparative dimensions of Procyon A and the Sun.
The brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor moves, as it appears from Earth, in front of Sirius, therefore it was called "before the dog."
This beautiful star is relatively close to the solar system, to her from us 3.5 parsecs. Procyon A has a faint fellow Procyon B, with whom they form a binary system of stars.
A star from the constellation Canis Minor is constantly growing, and after a while it will be 130-150 times larger than its current size.
The star Procyon A has been known to man since ancient times. The ancient Sumerians, Egyptians and the inhabitants of ancient Babylon revered her as a deity. Interestingly, in the scientific world, the name has an animal raccoon - Procyon, which means "pre-dog."
5
Crossbar
In the photo: Comparative dimensions of the Rigel and the Sun.
The beautiful blue and white supergiant is located in the beautiful and attractive constellation of Orion. The name of this bright near equatorial star is translated as “Leg”.
The luminosity of the Rigel is 130,000 times higher than the sun. According to this indicator, the star is the most powerful in the list of the brightest stars in the vastness of the Cosmos. The crossbar exceeds the Sun in mass by 18 times and in size by 74 times. In addition, Rigel is the closest star to us with such incredibly high luminosity.
On the Milky Way, where Rigel is located, this is one of the most beautiful places. The fact is that the star with its bright glow illuminates the dust clouds that are within the reach of the supergiant.
In Egyptian myths Rigel patronized the dead and was considered the king of all stars. In the future, this star began to be associated with Osiris. But the Maori Indians celebrated New Year with sunrise in the sky of Rigel.
6
Chapel
In the photo: Comparative dimensions of the system of stars Capella and the Sun
The beautiful name is consonant with the appearance, since the Capella is one of the most beautiful stars located in the sky. And from the Latin language it is translated as “Goat”.
The yellow giant in the figures of the constellation is located on the shoulder of the charioteer. In Roman mythology, the goat Amalfei nourished Jupiter, and its horn broken by a pupil became a cornucopia. In English fiction, the chapel is called the "shepherd's star."
The chapel is part of an original complex of space objects. A star is classified as spectrally binary stars. She pulled a satellite into her gravitational field, which, in turn, is also a binary star.
Interestingly, the Chapel is one of the oldest stars known to Mankind. It is first mentioned in tables dating back to 2000 BC.
By the way, on our site you can also find out a lot of interesting things about the most amazing and beautiful planets in the Universe.
7
G1.9 + 0.3
In the photo: Nebula formed as a result of a supernova explosion
A star that flashed a supernova in our Galaxy in the constellation Sagittarius. Having exploded about 25 thousand years ago, G1.9 + 0.3 is the youngest science known to date, a star.
The light from the explosion, which occurred at a distance of 25,000 light-years from Earth, reached the surface of our planet in 1868. But then, gas and dust clouds prevented quality observation.
In 1985, astronomers cataloged G1.9 + 0.3 as a bright radio source. A comparison of the images showed that the remnants of a supernova spread through space with a tremendous speed of up to 56 million kilometers per hour.
8
Vega
In the photo: Comparative dimensions of Vega and the Sun
A bright and beautiful star, located at a distance of 25.3 light years from the Sun, can be observed from the territory of Russia. Its mass is 2.135🌞, and its radius is 2.818🌞.
In ancient Egypt and India, the constellation Lyra, in which this bright star is located, was depicted in the form of a neck, therefore the name "Vega" is translated as "falling".
Vega in many respects ranks first and, according to astronomers, is an important star in the universe. We single out the main record characteristics of the star.
- Firstly, the most studied of all known in space.
- Secondly, the first, which was photographed using television equipment (after the Sun).
- Thirdly, scientists at Vega were the first to determine the spectral analysis.
- And last, Vega became the first star, the distance to which was measured by scientific methods, rather than theoretical calculations.
Around the star, bewitching the imagination with its unusualness, there is a dust disk. Perhaps it was formed as a result of a collision of two cosmic bodies near Vega, and the star pulled the remnants of a cosmic catastrophe towards itself.
9
Arcturus
In the photo: Comparative sizes of Arcturus and the Sun.
The brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere fits nicely into the plexus of stars of the constellation Bootes. This beautiful star can be observed in any corner of our planet.
The star is impressed by its large size of 25.7🌞, and its relatively close proximity to the Earth, 11.3 parsecs. Therefore, the star belongs to the category of red giants and its brightness is 110 times greater than the brightness of our Sun. The mass of Arcturus is 1–1.5🌞.
The apparent movement of Arcturus, which "travels" through space at high speed, was recorded in 1718.
In mythology, the star plays the role of a guard. In the ancient Greek language, Arcturus is the “Guard of the Bear”, and in Arabic, Haris-as-sama is “The Guardian of the Heavens”.
10
Diamond Star PSR J2222-0137
Unique in terms of composition and the coldest star PSR J2222-0137 is located 900 light years from Earth. This star is part of a binary star system, it rotates with the pulsar around a common center.
The star has already survived its age, and consists of crystallized carbon, which, under the influence of gravitational forces, has turned into one large diamond. Imagine such a giant cosmic diamond the size of the Earth travels through the vastness of the universe. There is a white dwarf in the constellation Aquarius.
Like the Sun during the existence of the diamond planet, it completed its life cycle, reaching the age of 11 billion years. Today it is the coldest star in space, known to the scientific community.
Due to the faint glow, it was difficult to detect, and this event happened recently, in 2013. Scientists even managed to calculate the temperature of an extinct star - approximately 2,700 degrees Celsius.
Theoretically, astronomers calculated the presence of such celestial bodies in space, but their discovery is difficult due to very low brightness.
And about what other amazing things scientists have found in space, most-beauty.ru has a very interesting article.
11
Toliman
In the photo: Comparative dimensions of the Centaurus system and the Sun
In everyday life, we better know the second name of the star - Alpha Centauri. For some reason, in all children's games with the presence of aliens, they flew from this star. Closest to us, the Centauri star system is widely represented in science fiction and on the movie screen.
The double star in the constellation Centaurus is unique in its structure. Two stars Alpha and Beta from Earth are visible as one star. Toliman is very close in its structure and characteristics to the Sun. Its mass is 10% more than mass 🌞, and its radius is 22% higher than the solar one.
A unique stellar system formed about 6 billion years, which is 2.5 billion years older than the solar system. Around this binary system of stars, another star rotates. This is the red dwarf of Proxima Centauri. It is located at a relatively large distance from two stars of the Centauri system and makes one revolution around them in half a million years.
Perhaps, according to scientists, astronauts and space designers, the Alpha Center will be the first space object to be sent to interstellar aircraft. Most-Beauty hopes that we will witness the launch of these spacecraft.
12
Canopus
In the photo: Comparative sizes of Canopus and the Sun.
A star in the constellation Lyra, one of the brightest stars in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Canopus category, astronauts are classified as white-yellow supergiant stars.
The star is quite far from the solar system - 310 light-years. The dimensions of this space object are also impressive and amazing. The mass of the star is 9 times larger than the sun, and the radius exceeds our star by 65 times.
Before the invention of the compass, Canopus was a guideline for navigating ships. And the star got its name by the name of the helmsman on one of the ships of Menelaus, the hero of the Trojan War.
There are stars in the history of an interesting fact. In the movie “Aladdin's Magic Lamp,” the sorcerer addresses the Canopus star in the desert to help him find Aladdin.
13
Sirius
In the photo: Comparative sizes of Sirius and the Sun.
The most beautiful star from the constellation Canis Major is located at a distance of 8.6 light years from us and is the brightest star in the sky. Its mass is 2🌞, its radius is 1.7🌞, and its luminosity is 25 times higher than ours 🌞.
Sirius has always played a very important role in the history of mankind. The star helped the sailors navigate the open sea, the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians settled their main gods on it, the Kazakhs for a long time determined the change of seasons by the star, the African tribe of Dogon and in our modern world worship the star as a deity.
The natural stellar complex Sirius, traveling the universe, approaches the solar system at a speed of 7.6 km per second, and therefore the apparent brightness of the star will increase over time.
Scientists predicted that after 660 million years, Sirius will turn into a red dwarf, and then, after a certain time, will drop the dust envelope and become a white dwarf.
14
The sun
Every inhabitant of the Earth cannot deny that the Sun is the most beautiful star, especially at the moments of sunsets and sunrises. Observing the Sun in other periods without special devices is dangerous for vision.
The star warming our Earth is quite young, the age of the Sun is about 4.6 billion years. Scientists, by analogy with other similar objects, suggested that the Sun is somewhere in the middle of its life cycle. In addition, this is the only star in our system. She holds planets, satellites, comets in her gravitational field.
By the age of 10-12.5 billion years, the star will warm up so much that it will turn into a red giant. The sun in this period of its history will expand so much that it will reach the orbit of the earth.
One of the most beautiful phenomena that people on Earth can observe is solar eclipses.
As the closest star to us, the Sun became the object of worship of all the peoples living on the planet. In Slavic mythology, the God of the Sun, Dazhbog and the solar disk Horse. The etymology of the first deity is derived from the phrase "Giving life to God," which means the Sun.
The beautiful legend of Phaeton, who crashed in space on a solar chariot, is also connected with the Sun.
15
LP 40-365
In the universe, stars often form pairs, circling in a single dance around each other. It happens that such stars are attracted closer and closer to each other. In such cases, one star can gradually pull towards itself a part of the substance of a partner-star.
This happened with the white dwarf LP 40-365, which for a long time devoured the mass of a neighboring star. Usually in such cases, from an overabundance of mass, in white dwarfs, processes occur that enhance the process of thermonuclear fusion with a sharp release of a huge amount of energy. This leads to a supernova explosion, which, as a rule, is completely destroyed. But the star LP 40-365 is an exception. She retained most of her mass after the explosion, but acquired an unprecedented speed. The star, like a cannonball, sharply gained speed up to 500 km. second, which will allow her to leave the galaxy in the future. Such unusual stars are quite rare in the universe!
In the video you see a double star explosion model similar to LP 40-365.
LP 40-365 is the first star of this type, which clearly proved the theory put forward earlier about the existence of such phenomena. The mass of the star is 6.5 times less than the mass of our Sun, and the distance to it is about 1,000 light years.
16
Galaxy z8 GND 5296
In the photo: Image of a distant Galaxy.
At the end of our list is not about the star, but about the whole galaxy. Most recently, in 2013, astronomers discovered this farthest cluster of stars from us in the constellation Ursa Major.
The distance from z8 GND 5296 to Earth is 30 billion light-years. Today we see the light of these distant stars, which they began to radiate 700 million years after the birth of the Universe. In fact, looking at the sky, we see the past.
It is a remarkable fact that an active process of formation of new stars is ongoing in this galaxy. If one star is formed in the Milky Way every year, then in z8 GND 5296 300 new space objects are born per year (In fact, these objects may no longer exist and currently active star formation in a distant galaxy is completed).
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Conclusion
A strange creature, after all, is a man. After all, we can imagine the beauty of stars only in our imagination, well, and also from images from space research vehicles. But men, expressing sympathy for the girl, invariably call the object of their adoration "Asterisk", "Sun." What mother did not reward her child with the same epithets. For distant luminaries in our life, a romantic image has firmly entrenched.
And, despite the fact that in our everyday life there is such a definition as “cold as a star”, these cosmic objects above our heads give our life meaning and motivation for constant knowledge.
Learning more about Cosmos and the processes that occur in interstellar and interplanetary spaces, we can assume further changes in the Universe and approximately designate the further cosmic history of our planet.
We are sure that other no less beautiful and unusual stars exist in the world. Over time, humanity will learn about them, but for now, we complete our story. Thanks for your attention. The editors of most-beauty will be happy to read your comments. Write what you think of the stars, space; share your thoughts, guesses, observations.
Co-author: Alexey Shcherbakov