About the Book
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 24. Chapters: Betelgeuse, List of semiregular variable stars, Mu Cephei, Beta Andromedae, Rho Cassiopeiae, Delta Virginis, La Superba, Eta Geminorum, KW Sagittarii, V Aquilae, Rho Arietis, 119 Tauri, Tau4 Serpentis, UU Aurigae, HD 3346, 101 Virginis, Mu Ursae Majoris, V509 Cassiopeiae, 34 Bootis, VZ Camelopardalis, Z Aquarii, Theta Apodis, S Aquilae, Rho Persei, S Aurigae, C Centauri, 2 Centauri, 14 Aquarii, Omicron Centauri, HD 130144, WZ Cassiopeiae, V1401 Aquilae, V423 Aurigae, V1472 Aquilae, V725 Sagittarii, V450 Aquilae, ST Andromedae, NO Apodis, RS Andromedae, SS Andromedae, SU Andromedae, RV Andromedae, RU Andromedae, 27 Cancri, O Carinae, R Canum Venaticorum, Lambda Ursae Minoris, Nu Virginis, Sigma Virginis, Iota Tucanae, 19 Piscium. Excerpt: Betelgeuse, also known by its Bayer designation Alpha Orionis ( Orionis, Ori), is the 8th brightest star in the night sky and second brightest star in the constellation of Orion, outshining its neighbour Rigel (Beta Orionis) only rarely. Distinctly reddish-tinted, it is a semiregular variable star whose apparent magnitude varies between 0.2 and 1.2, the widest range of any first magnitude star. The star marks the upper right vertex of the Winter Triangle and center of the Winter Hexagon. Classified as a red supergiant, Betelgeuse is one of the largest and most luminous stars known. If it were at the center of our Solar System, its surface would extend past the asteroid belt possibly to the orbit of Jupiter and beyond, wholly engulfing Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. However, with distance estimates in the last century that have ranged anywhere from 180 to 1,300 light years from Earth, calculating its diameter, luminosity and mass have proven difficult. Betelgeuse is currently thought to lie around 640 light years away, yielding a mean absolute magnitude of about 6.05. In 192...
