Astronomy Science Olympiad Master Test Questions – Flashcards

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O stars
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Hottest blue-white stars with few lines Strong He II absorption (sometimes emission) lines He I absorption lines becoming stronger
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B stars
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Hot blue-white He I absorption lines strongest at B2 H I (Balmer) absorption lines getting stronger
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A stars
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White Balmer absorption lines strongest at A), becoming weaker later Ca II absorption lines becoming stronger
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F stars
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Yellow-white Ca II lines continue to increase, Balmer lines decrease Neutral metal absorption lines (Fe I, Cr I)
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G stars
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Yellow Solar-type spectra Ca II increase Fe I, other neutral metal increase
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K stars
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Cool orange Ca II H & K strongest K0, then decrease dominated by metal absorption
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M stars
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Cool red Molecular absorption bands (TiO, VO) Neutral metal absorption lines remain strong
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L stars
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Very cool, dark red Stronger in infrared Strong molecular absorption bands of metal hydrides, water, CO, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Alkalis TiO, VO decrease
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T stars
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Coolest, Infrared Strong methane, CO decrease
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Wien's law
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(Peak wavelength)(Temperature) = 0.002897755 mK
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Stefan Boltzmann Law
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Luminosity = 4(pi)(radius)^2(stefan-boltzmann constant)(effective temperature)^4 Stefan-Boltzmann constant - 5.670400*10^-8 W m^-2 K^4
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Stellar parallax
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d = 1/p" pc
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Distance modulus
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m-M = 5 log d - 5 = 5 log (d/10pc)
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Protostar
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When a star is in free-fall collapse.
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T Tauri Star
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Pre-main-sequence variable stars with spectral classes from F to M. They have many emission lines in their spectra, indicating their strong stellar winds. They are easy to identify and can be used as traces of solar-mass star formation regions. Appear within dark dust clouds.
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Main Sequence
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Stars spend the majority of their lives (about 80 percent) at this stage. How long a star remains here depends on its mass.
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H-R Diagram
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Important with regards to stellar evolution because it can be used to identify the life cycle of a star, as well as characteristics of the stars in a star cluster. Most stars will follow certain paths, so by plotting a star, we can estimate its position within the stellar evolutionary cycle.
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Turnoff Point
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The point at which the stars deviate from the main sequence after using up most of their fuel.
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Andromeda
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M31 galaxy
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Star: Vega
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Constellation: Lyra
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Stars: Betelgeuse & Rigel
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Constellation: Orion
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Star: Algol
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Constellation: Perseus
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Star: Antares
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Constellation: Scorpius
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Star: Polaris
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Constellation: Ursa Minor
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Stars: Mizar & Alcor
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Constellation: Ursa Major
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Star: Velorum
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Constellation: Vela
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Star: Spica
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Constellation: Virgo
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Astronomical Unit
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A.U. 1.496x10(11) meters
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Atomic Mass Constant
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Mu 1.6605386x10(-27) kg
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Light Year
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ly 9.4605x10(15)m
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Parsec
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pc 3.0857x10(16) m
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Solar Mass
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Mo 1.989x10(30)kg
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Solar Radius
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Ro 6.9599x10(8) m
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Solar Luminosity
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Lo 3.90x10(26) W
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Speed of Light
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c 299,792,458 m s(-1)
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Standard Atmosphere
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101,325 Pa
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Cas A
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A supernova remnant in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is about 11,000 light years away.
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Cygnus X-1
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A deep sky object in Cygnus constellation. It is an intense x-ray source neat Eta Cygni and is thought to be a black hole in orbit around the 9th-magnitude blue supergiant about 8,000 light-years away in our own galaxy.
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M1
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a supernova remnant in the constellation Taurus, the supernova was caused by a supergiant collapsing inward and exploding, in the center of the crab pulsar there is a rapidly rotating neutron star, crab pulsar is the strongest persistent source of x-rays and gamma rays
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Ursa Minor
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Also known as the Little Bear or the Little Dipper; Brightest Star: Polaris
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Ursa Major
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Also known as the Great Bear or the Big Dipper; Brightest Star: Epsilon Majoris; there is also a double star with Mizar and Alcor
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Absolute Magnitude
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The apparent magnitude a star would have if it were located at a standard distance of 10 parsecs (32.6 ly) from Earth
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Accelerating Universe
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A universe that expands at an accelerating rate. Current evidence indicates that the expansion of our universe had been slowing down under the action of gravity until about 6 billion years ago, but that since then it has been accelerating. The acceleration is believed to be driven by the repulsive influence of dark energy.
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Accretion
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1. The colliding and sticking together of small, solid particles and bodies to make progressively larger ones. 2. The process by which a body grows in mass by accumulatig matter from its surroundings.
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Accretion Disk
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A disk of gas that revolves around a star or a compact object such as a white dwarf, neutron star or black hole and has been drawn in from a companion star or from neighboring gas clouds.
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Active Galaxy
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A galaxy that emits an exceptional amount of energy over a wide range of wavelengths, from radio waves to X-Rays.
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Annual parallax
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The maximum angular displacement of a star from its mean position due to parallax. The greater the distance from a star, the smaller its parallax.
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Annual Proper Motion
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The angle (seldom more than a small fraction of 1 sec. of angular measurement) through which a star appears to shift in the course of 1 year.
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Annular Eclipse
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When the moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth when it is close to apogee, it will appear smaller than the Sun, and its dark disk will be surrounded by a ring, or annulus, of sunlight.
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Antimatter
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Material composed of antiparticles.
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Aperture
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The clear diameter of the objective lens or primary mirror of a telescope or other optical instrument.
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Aphelion
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The point on its elliptical orbit at which a body such as a planet, asteroid or comet, is at its greatest distance from the Sun.
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Apogee
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The point on its elliptical orbit around Earth at which a body such as the moon or a spacecraft is at its greatest distance from the Earth.
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Asterism
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A conspicuous pattern of stars that is not itself a constellation. A well - known example is the Big Dipper, which forms part of the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear).
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Asteroid
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One of the vast number of small bodies that revolve independently around the sun. Their diameters range from a few yards (meters) to around 600 miles (1,000 km).
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Aurora
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A glowing, flucuating display of light that is produced when charged particles entering a planet's upper atmosphere, usually in the vicinity of its north and south magnetic poles, collide with atoms and stimulate them to emit light.
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Azimuth
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The angle between the north point on an observer's horizon and a celestial object, measured in a clockwise direction around the horizon. The azimuth of die north is 0 degrees, due east 90, due south 180 and due west 270.
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Big Bang
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The event in which the universe was born. According to Big Bang theory, the universe originated a finite time ago in an extremely hot, dense initial state and ever since then has been expanding. The Big Bang was the origin of space, time and matter.
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Big Crunch
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The final state that will be reached by the universe if it eventually ceases to expand and then collapses in on itself.
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Big Rip
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The tearing apart of all forms of structure in the universe - galaxy clusters, galaxies, stars, planets, atoms, and elementary particles - that is expected to occur should the repulsive effect of dark energy become infinitely strong in a finite time.
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Binary star
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Two or more stars that revovle around each other under the influence of their initial gravitational attraction. Each member star orbits the center of mass of the system, a point that lies closer to the more massive of the two stars.
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Black Dwarf Star
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A white dwarf star that has been cooled to such a low temperature that it emits no detectable light. There has not been enough time since the origin of the universe to cool down enough to become a black dwarf star.
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Black Hole
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A compact region of space, surrounding a collapsed mass, within which gravity is so powerful that no material object, light, or any other radiation can escape to the outside universe.
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Quasar
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A distant galaxy that emits a huge amount of energy; Produced by gas falling into a supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy
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Dark matter
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A term used to describe the mass in galaxies that can be inferred to exist from its gravitational effects, but has not been directly detected by electromagnetic radiation
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Type- 1 Supernova
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One possible explosive death of a star.An accretion of gas from a companion star or another white dwarf pushing another white dwarf creating explosive nuclear fusion reactions that release an enormous amount of energy
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Type 2 Supernova
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One possible explosive death of a star in which the massive highly evolved stellar core rapidly implodes and then explodes.
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Kepler's First law
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All planets move about the sun in an elliptical orbit with the sun at one focus
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Kepler's Second Law
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As the planet moves in its orbit, a line from the sun to the planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times
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Kepler's Third Law
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A planet orbital period squared, is porportional to its average distance from the sun cubed; A^3=P^2
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Hubble's Law
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The principle that states the distance of external galaxies from the earth is proportional to their redshift
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Hubble's Constant
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The constant which determines the relationship between the distance to a galaxy and its velocity of recession due to the expansion of the Universe
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Electromagnetic Spectrum
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the entire frequency range of electromagnetic waves
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apparent magnitude
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The apparent magnitude (m) of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere.
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stellar magnitude
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He called the brightest ones "of the first magnitude," simply meaning "the biggest." Stars not so bright he called "of the second magnitude," or second biggest. The faintest stars he could see he called "of the sixth magnitude.
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nuclear fission
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a nuclear reaction or a radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of a particle splits into smaller parts (lighter nuclei). The fission process often produces free neutrons and photons (in the form of gamma rays), and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay.
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stellar evolution
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How stars are made and what they undergo during their lifespan.
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nuclear fusion
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The process that stars use to create power that allows them to stay alive and orbit.
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Canis Minor
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Constellation in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the smaller of the two dogs of Orion, the hunter.
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Canis Major
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Constellation in the Southern Hemisphere. It is one of the two dogs following Orion, the hunter. Whirlpool Galaxy. Contains Sirius (brightest star in the night sky)
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Leo
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the lion that Hercules slayed and then turned into a star.
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Pegasus
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(Greek mythology) immortal winged horse that sprang from the blood of the slain Medusa . then when it died it was put into the stars
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Scorpio
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Arachnid that has a long tail with a poisonous, needlelike point on the end. Scorpio killed Orion
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Taurus
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Constellation in the Northern Hemisphere. It represents a bull that was said, in Greek mythology, to be the disguise of the god Zeus
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Virgo
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Found in the northern hemisphere, it is the 2nd largest constellation overall. It has Bootes to the north, Corvus to the south, and Libra to the west. It represents a virgin. 5 to 10 light years away from earth.
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Vega
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is the old north star.
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Betelgeuse
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Red supergiant star in the Orion Constellation located in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Antares
Antares
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Red supergiant star in the Scorpius Constellation located in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Aldebaran
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A red giant in the Taurus Constellation located in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Polaris
Polaris
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A creamy-white supergiant star that is a Cepeid variable in the Ursa Minor Constellation located in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Altair
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Single star, 16.7 light years away, A7 in spectral class. In the constellation Aquila.
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Sirius
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Binary star system, looks like single star. Brightest in sky, 36.7 light years away.
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