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blink microscope

(Encyclopedia)blink microscope, in astronomy, device for determining a change in position or magnitude (brightness) of a star relative to other stars in the background. Two photographs of the same field or area of ...

mass-luminosity relation

(Encyclopedia)mass-luminosity relation, in astronomy, law stating that the luminosity of a star is proportional to some power of the mass of the star. More massive stars are in general more luminous. For stars on t...

Carina

(Encyclopedia)Carina kərēˈnə [key] [Lat.,=the keel], southern constellation, representing the keel of the ancient constellation Argo Navis, or Ship of the Argonauts. Carina contains Canopus, the second brightes...

Rigel

(Encyclopedia)Rigel rīˈjəl [key], bright star in the constellation Orion; Bayer designation Beta Orionis; 1992 position R.A. 5h14.2m, Dec. −8°13′. A huge, blue supergiant of spectral class B8 Ia, Rigel has ...

ephemeris

(Encyclopedia)ephemeris ĭfĕmˈərĭs [key] (pl., ephemerides), table listing the position of one or more celestial bodies for each day of the year. The French publication Connaissance de Temps is the oldest of th...

Polaris

(Encyclopedia)Polaris pōlârˈĭs [key] or North Star, star nearest the north celestial pole (see equatorial coordinate system). It is in the constellation Ursa Minor (see Ursa Major and Ursa Minor; Bayer designat...

planetary system

(Encyclopedia)planetary system, a star and all the celestial bodies bound to it by gravity, especially planets and their natural satellites. Until the last decade of the 20th cent., the only planetary system known ...

radial velocity

(Encyclopedia)radial velocity, in astronomy, the speed with which a star moves toward or away from the sun. It is determined from the red or blue shift in the star's spectrum. ...

Auriga

(Encyclopedia)Auriga ôrīˈgə [key] [Lat.,=the charioteer or wagoner], northern constellation traditionally represented as a man, possibly Vulcan, carrying a goat on his shoulder while driving a chariot. It lies ...

Aldebaran

(Encyclopedia)Aldebaran ălˌdĕbˈərən [key], brightest star in the constellation Taurus; Bayer designation α Tauri; 1992 position R.A. 4h35.5m, Dec. +16°30′. An orange giant star (spectral class K5 III) wit...