The sun is the most important star in our galaxy. It is the source of life on earth. Most of all ancient civilizations worshiped the sun as a god. In the same way there are also about 300 billion different stars in our galaxy. All of which contain different history, characteristics and general information. They each contain their own story of how they came about. Many of these stars are a part of a certain constellation and have been around for billions of years.
Polaris is one the best known stars. Polaris is not hard to miss in the sky; it is the 50th brightest star and does not disappear. The reason this star will not disappear is due to the fact that the Earth’s axis is aligned pointing towards Polaris in the same direction North faces but will eventually shift over time. In comparison to the sun, this star is 10,000 times brighter, 100 times larger and has 10 times more mass to our sun. Polaris has about the same temperature as the sun.
Sirius also known as The Dog Star or Canicula was discovered in 1915. Sirius gets its name from the use in the Greek calendar. “The time of year when this star rose and set with the Sun was the hottest part of the summer, and was given the name Seirios, 'scorching', a name that was acquired by the star itself”.Sirius is the fifth closest star to the solar system”. It is only 8.6 light years from our solar system which makes this star the brightest star known. Sirius has a binary system which means that there are two stars revolving around each other. “Sirius A is a blue-white star 25.4 times bigger than the sun. Its surface temperature is twice as hot as the sun, over 20 times brighter, and it’s mass 2.32 times more.” Sirius B revolves around Sirius A. This star is the first white dwarf to be discovered. Its diameter is almost equal to that of the earths. “It has a mass is 98% that of the sun, making it extremely dense.”
Another famous star is Betelgeuse. This star gets its name from the Arabic meaning “Armpit of the Central one”. It is the tenth brightest star in our galaxy and the brightest star in Orion which is the constellation in which it lies in. This star shines an orange-red color, 7,500 times brighter than the sun. Its surface temperature is 6000F. Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars known with a diameter of 700 million miles. This star is 520 light years away and also has about five companion stars in its orbit which is rare for a Red Super Giant. “Red super giants are stars that are close to the end of their life”. Betelgeuse has about ten years left till it ends in a supernova explosion.
VY Canis Majoris also known as VY CMa was discovered roughly around March 7, 1801, by a French astronomer Jerome Lalande. (universetoday) Throughout the 19th century it was believed that VY Canis Majoris was a single star until 1917, Guerin noticed a three nuclei (Robinson, IBVS 599) the red hypergiant is the largest star known in The Milky Way but also in the entire universe. “It has a diameter of about 3 billion kilometres. Its radius is about 1,800 to 2,100 times the radius of the Sun.” VY Canis Majoris is about 40 times the mass of our sun. ” It has an average density of about 0.000005 to 0.000010 kg/cu.m. This is very less when compared to the density of water (1000 kg/cu.m).” This star is about 4,900 light years from the Earth. This star is found in the constellation of Canis Major which lies in the southern part of the sky. The name in Latin means “the greater dog”. This star is one of the most luminous stars. “Its luminosity is about 450,000 times the luminosity of the sun.” It is believed that this star is extremely unstable, as huge amounts of it’s mass it being thrown off into the closest nebulae.
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