About the Book
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 205. Chapters: Betelgeuse, Epsilon Eridani, Vega, Sirius, Alpha Centauri, Beta Pictoris, Tau Ceti, Table of stars with Bayer designations, Capella (star), 55 Cancri, Eta Carinae, Procyon, Arcturus, Epsilon Aurigae, Upsilon Andromedae, Alpha Andromedae, Fomalhaut, Altair, Epsilon Indi, Mira, Canopus, Algol, Antares, Aldebaran, Mu Arae, Zeta Reticuli, Rigel, Polaris, Spica, Pollux (star), Beta Aquarii, Alpha Cassiopeiae, Alpha Arietis, Gamma Cassiopeiae, 40 Eridani, Beta Herculis, Alpha Gruis, 82 G. Eridani, Epsilon Bootis, Zeta Geminorum, Epsilon Sagittarii, Delta Cephei, Gamma Andromedae, Deneb, Mu Cephei, Alpha Camelopardalis, Beta Andromedae, Eta Corvi, Zeta Ophiuchi, Omega Centauri, Beta Cassiopeiae, Beta Canum Venaticorum, Denebola, Zeta Aquilae, Albireo, Zeta Leporis, Delta Capricorni, Kappa1 Ceti, Regulus, Alpha Persei, Epsilon Ophiuchi, Delta Aquilae, Mizar and Alcor, Lambda Aurigae, Delta Ophiuchi, Lambda Tauri, Iota Draconis, Beta Monocerotis, Theta Ursae Majoris, Beta Eridani, Cor Caroli, Beta Ceti, Beta Crucis, Gamma Ursae Majoris, Epsilon Cassiopeiae, Alpha Serpentis, Alpha Ophiuchi, Iota Aurigae, Gamma Draconis, Achernar, Alpha Arae, Gamma Persei, Beta Ursae Majoris, Beta Arietis, Rho Puppis, Epsilon Virginis, Gamma Crucis, Meissa, 91 Aquarii, Gamma Cephei, Gamma Aquilae, Bellatrix, Omicron Ursae Majoris, Theta Aquilae, Gamma Geminorum, Xi Aquilae, Pi Aquarii, Epsilon Pegasi, Eta Sagittarii, Gamma Corvi, Delta Bootis, Zeta Aquarii, Sigma Draconis, Tau Scorpii, Eta Cephei, Beta Centauri, Pi Herculis, Epsilon Canis Majoris, Gamma Ceti, Beta Aurigae, Iota Horologii, Delta Trianguli, Theta Eridani, Eta Virginis, Delta Persei, Delta Aquarii, Beta Cephei, Beta Corvi, Epsilon Geminorum, 47 Tucanae, Sigma Sagittarii, Pi3 Orionis, Lambda Aquilae, Alpha Herculis, Delta Ursae Majoris, Theta Cygni, Nu Ophiuchi, Xi Geminorum, Delta Crucis, Omicron2 Canis Majoris, Alpha Columbae, Beta Lyrae, Beta Columbae, Alphard, Alpha Aquarii, Zeta Hydrae, Delta Scuti, P Eridani, Gamma Arietis, Alpha Cephei, Castor (star), Epsilon Carinae, Delta Arietis, Sigma Scorpii, Delta Pavonis, Lambda Sagittarii, Iota Centauri, Xi Aquarii. Excerpt: Betelgeuse ( or ), also known by its Bayer designation Alpha Orionis ( Orionis, Ori), is the eighth-brightest star in the night sky and second-brightest in the constellation of Orion. Distinctly reddish, it is a semiregular variable star whose apparent magnitude varies between 0.2 and 1.2, the widest range of any first-magnitude star. Betelgeuse is one of three stars that make up the Winter Triangle, and it marks the center of the Winter Hexagon. The star's name is derived from the Arabic, meaning "the Hand of al-Jauz '," i.e. Orion, with mistransliteration into medieval Latin leading to the first character y being misread as a b. The star is classified as a red supergiant of spectral type M2Iab and is one of the largest and most luminous observable stars. If Betelgeuse were at the center of the 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. Estimates of its mass are poorly constrained, but range from 5 to 30 times that of the Sun. Its distance from Earth was estimated in 2008 at 640 light-years, yielding a mean absolute magnitude of about 6.02. Less than 10 million years old, Betelgeuse has evolved rapidly because of its high mass. Having been ejected from its birthplace in the Orion OB1 Association-which includes the stars in Orion's Belt-this crimson runaway has been observed moving through the interstellar medium at a supersonic speed of 30 km/sec, creating a bow shock over 4 light-years wide. Currently in a late stage of stellar evolution, the supergiant is expected to proceed through its life cycle before exploding as a type II...
