What name is usually given to the giant red star Alpha Orion?
"for example Betelgeuse, which is predicted to explode sometime in the next million years. Orion (constellation) Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It was named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. Its brightest stars are Rigel (Beta Orionis) and Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), a blue-white and a red supergiant, respectively. The earliest depiction that has been linked to the constellation of Orion is a prehistoric (Aurignacian) mammoth ivory carving found in a cave in the Ach valley"
"used by the American astronauts; the astronaut Taylor (portrayed by Charlton Heston) refers to ""the long sleep"" of nearly a year of ship-time during which his crew spends the majority of their voyage towards the unnamed star that is their destination. Betelgeuse in fiction The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun, such as Betelgeuse, are a staple element in much science fiction. Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) is a bright red star in the constellation Orion frequently featured in works of science fiction. A red supergiant, Betelgeuse is one of the largest and most luminous stars known. If it were"
"Betelgeuse in fiction The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun, such as Betelgeuse, are a staple element in much science fiction. Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) is a bright red star in the constellation Orion frequently featured in works of science fiction. 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 or even beyond, wholly engulfing Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Classified as an M-type main sequence star, and located around"
"were known as ""Akuttujuuk"" ""those (two) placed far apart"", referring to the distance between them, mainly to people from North Baffin Island and Melville Peninsula. \end{align}</math></ref> Bellatrix Bellatrix, also designated Gamma Orionis (γ Orionis, abbreviated Gamma Ori, γ Ori), is the third-brightest star in the constellation of Orion, 5° west of the red giant Alpha Orionis (Betelgeuse). Just between the first and second magnitude and slightly variable, it is about the 25th-brightest star in the night sky. Bellatrix is a massive star with about 8.6 times the Sun's mass. It has an estimated age of approximately 25 million years—old enough"
"said of the seven stars pictured in the bordure azure of the coat of arms of Madrid, capital of that country. Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means ""greater (or larger) she-bear"", standing as a reference to and in direct contrast with nearby Ursa Minor, the lesser bear. In antiquity, it was one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy (2nd century AD), and is now the third largest constellation of the 88 modern constellations. Ursa"
"is referred to in this way by Aratos, Homer and Hesiod. The ancient Greeks refer only to one dog, but by Roman times, Canis Minor appears as Orion's second dog. Alternative names include Canis Sequens and Canis Alter. Canis Syrius was the name used in the 1521 ""Alfonsine tables"". The Roman myth refers to Canis Major as ""Custos Europae"", the dog guarding Europa but failing to prevent her abduction by Jupiter in the form of a bull, and as ""Janitor Lethaeus"", ""the watchdog"". In medieval Arab astronomy, the constellation became ""al-Kalb al-Akbar"", ""the Greater Dog"", transcribed as ""Alcheleb Alachbar"" by"
"Aldebaran Aldebaran, designated Alpha Tauri (α Tauri, abbreviated Alpha Tau, α Tau), is an orange giant star located about 65 light-years from the Sun in the zodiac constellation Taurus. It is the brightest star in its constellation and usually the fourteenth-brightest star in the night sky, though it varies slowly in brightness between magnitude 0.75 and 0.95. Aldebaran hosts a planet several times the size of Jupiter￼, named Aldebaran b. The planetary exploration probe Pioneer 10 is currently heading in the general direction of the star and should make its closest approach in about two million years. ""Alpha Tauri"" is"
"Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, also designated Alpha Orionis (α Orionis, abbreviated Alpha Ori, α Ori), is on average the ninth-brightest star in the night sky and second-brightest in the constellation of Orion. It is distinctly reddish, and is a semiregular variable star whose apparent magnitude varies between 0.0 and 1.3, the widest range of any first-magnitude star. Betelgeuse is one of three stars that make up the asterism of the Winter Triangle, and it marks the center of the Winter Hexagon. If the human eye could view all wavelengths of radiation, Betelgeuse would be the brightest star in the night sky. Classified"
"Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means ""greater (or larger) she-bear"", standing as a reference to and in direct contrast with nearby Ursa Minor, the lesser bear. In antiquity, it was one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy (2nd century AD), and is now the third largest constellation of the 88 modern constellations. Ursa Major is primarily known from the asterism of its main seven relatively bright stars comprising the ""Big Dipper"", ""the Wagon"", ""Charles's"
"below)—and even if such were eventually discovered, with an estimated age of 230 million years the system is too young to have fostered the development of life or a complex biosphere. Sirius AB is the alpha star of the constellation Canis Major (the great dog, sometimes styled as Orion's hunting dog), whence its cognomen ""the dog star"". The most commonly used proper name of this star comes through the Latin ""Sirius"", from the Greek Σείριος (""Seirios"", ""glowing"" or ""scorcher""). The ancient Greeks observed that the appearance of Sirius heralded the hot and dry ""dog days"" of summer, and feared that"
"the White Tiger. Alnilam Alnilam, designated Epsilon Orionis (ε Orionis, abbreviated Epsilon Ori, ε Ori) and 46 Orionis (46 Ori), is a large blue supergiant star some 2,000 light-years distant in the constellation of Orion. It is estimated to be 275,000 to 832,000 times as luminous as the Sun, and 30-64.5 times as massive. It is the 29th-brightest star in the sky (the 4th-brightest in Orion) and is a blue-white supergiant. Together with Mintaka and Alnitak, the three stars make up the belt of Orion, known by many names across many ancient cultures. Alnilam is the middle star. It is"
"from every location on Earth except within the Antarctic circle. The red giant Gamma Sagittae is the constellation's brightest star, with an apparent magnitude of 3.47. Two star systems have been found to have planets. The Greeks who may have originally identified this constellation called it ""Oistos"". The Romans named it Sagitta. Sagitta's shape is reminiscent of an arrow, and many cultures have interpreted it thus, among them the Persians, Hebrews, Greeks and Romans. The Arabs called it ""as-Sahm"", a name that was transferred ""Sham"" and now refers to Alpha Sagittae only. In ancient Greece, Sagitta was regarded as the"
"', meaning ""the hand of Orion"" (see below). In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN, which included ""Betelgeuse"" for this star. It is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names. Betelgeuse and its red coloration have been noted since antiquity; the classical astronomer Ptolemy described its color as ὑπόκιρρος (""hypókirrhos""), a term that was later described by a translator of Ulugh"
"Because ', the root of ', means ""middle"", ' roughly means ""the Central One"". The modern Arabic name for Orion is ' (""the Giant""), although the use of ' in the name of the star has continued. The 17th-century English translator Edmund Chilmead gave it the name ""Ied Algeuze"" (""Orion's Hand""), from Christmannus. Other Arabic names recorded include ' (""the Right Hand""), ' (""the Arm""), and ' (""the Shoulder""), all appended to ""of the giant"", as '. Other names for Betelgeuse included the Persian ' ""the Arm"", and Coptic ' ""an Armlet"". """" was its Sanskrit name, as part of"
"and moved off the main sequence. It is times as massive as the Sun, but has expanded to times its diameter and is around 170 times as luminous. ""α Boötis"" (Latinised to ""Alpha Boötis"") is the star's Bayer designation. The traditional name ""Arcturus"" derives from Ancient Greek Ἀρκτοῦρος (""Arktouros"") and means ""Guardian of the Bear"", ultimately from ἄρκτος (""arktos""), ""bear"" and οὖρος (""ouros""), ""watcher, guardian"". It has been known by this name since at least the time of Hesiod. The Greek name is a reference to its being the brightest star in the constellation next to Ursa Major, the Greater"
"Rigel Rigel (), also designated Beta Orionis (β Orionis, abbreviated Beta Ori, β Ori), is generally the seventh-brightest star in the night sky and the brightest in the constellation of Orion—though occasionally it is outshone within the constellation by the variable star Betelgeuse. With an apparent magnitude of 0.13, it is a luminous object some 863 light-years distant from Earth. Rigel as seen from Earth is actually a multiple star system of three to five stars, the primary star (Rigel A) being a blue-white supergiant which is estimated to be anywhere from 120,000 to 279,000 times as luminous as the"
"times its previous size and becomes a red giant, such as Aldebaran (or Alpha Tauri). Eventually the red giant sheds its outer layers of gas, which become a planetary nebula, while the core rapidly cools and contracts into a compact, dense white dwarf. The revised Yerkes Atlas system (Johnson & Morgan 1953) listed 11 G-type dwarf spectral standard stars; however, not all of these have survived to this day as standards. The ""anchor points"" of the MK spectral classification system among the G-type main-sequence dwarf stars, i.e. those standard stars that have remained unchanged over years, are beta CVn (G0V),"
"major names for the brightest star in Taurus; the proper name Aldebaran and the scientific names, Alpha Taurind and 87 Tauri. Any of these three names can be used for the brightest star in Taurus but present day astronomers prefer to use the latter two scientific names. Due to their enormous popularity, a remnant of bright stars retained their original Greek or Latin names, surviving the mass invasion of Arabic names. Examples include Sirius (Greek for ""searing"" or ""scorching""), Arcturus (Greek for ""Guardian of the Bear""), Capella (Latin for ""Little She-goat""), and Spica (Latin for ""Ear of Grain""). Examples of"
"giant of spectral type O8 III and apparent magnitude 3.54, which lies some 1100 light years distant. Phi-1 and Phi-2 Orionis make up the base. Also nearby is the very young star FU Orionis. Stretching north from Betelgeuse are the stars that make up Orion's club. Mu Orionis marks the elbow, Nu and Xi mark the handle of the club, and Chi and Chi mark the end of the club. Just east of Chi is the Mira-type variable red giant U Orionis. West from Bellatrix lie six stars all designated Pi Orionis (π Ori, π Ori, π Ori, π Ori,"
"Consequently, Alnilam are known as (, ).. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger. The USS ""Mintaka"" (AK-94) was a United States Navy ""Crater""-class cargo ship named after the star. Mintaka Mintaka, also designated Delta Orionis (δ Orionis, abbreviated Delta Ori, δ Ori) and 34 Orionis (34 Ori) is a multiple star system some 1,200 light-years from the Sun in the constellation of Orion. Together with Alnitak (Zeta Orionis) and Alnilam (Epsilon Orionis), the three stars form Orion's Belt, known by many names among ancient cultures. When Orion is near the meridian, Mintaka is the right-most"
"""Menkib al Jauza al Aisr"", which was translated into Latin as ""Humerus Sinister Gigantis"". The Wardaman people of northern Australia know Bellatrix as ""Banjan"", the sparkling pigment used in ceremonies conducted by Rigel the Red Kangaroo Leader in a songline when Orion is high in the sky. The other stars of Orion are his ceremonial tools and entourage. Betelgeuse is ""Ya-jungin"" ""Owl Eyes Flicking"", watching the ceremonies. To the Inuit, the appearance of Betelgeuse and Bellatrix high in the southern sky after sunset marked the beginning of spring and lengthening days in late February and early March. The two stars"
"B also appears to have a very close visual companion Rigel C of almost identical appearance. ""Beta Orionis"" is the star's Bayer designation. The traditional name ""Rigel"" is first recorded in the Alfonsine Tables of 1252. It is derived from the Arabic name ', ""the left leg (foot) of Jauzah"" (i.e. ""rijl"" meaning ""leg, foot""), which can be traced to the 10th century. ""Jauzah"" was a proper name of the Orion figure, an alternative Arabic name was ', ""the foot of the great one"", which is the source of the rarely used variant names Algebar or ""Elgebar"". The ""Alphonsine Tables"""
"Polaris Polaris, designated Alpha Ursae Minoris ( Ursae Minoris, abbreviated Alpha UMi, UMi), commonly the North Star or Pole Star, is the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Minor. It is very close to the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star. The revised Hipparcos parallax gives a distance to Polaris of about 433 light-years (133 parsecs), while calculations by other methods derive distances around 30% closer. Polaris is a multiple star, comprising the main star (Polaris Aa, a yellow supergiant) in orbit with a smaller companion (Polaris Ab); the pair in orbit with Polaris B"
"blue-white B-type bright giant or main sequence star with an apparent magnitude of +5.08. The third member, component B, is an eighth magnitude star 3.4 arcseconds from the primary. Pi Capricorni Pi Capricorni, Latinized from π Capricorni, is a triple star in the southern constellation of Capricornus. It has the traditional star name Okul or Oculus (meaning ""eye"" in Latin). The system is approximately 550 light years from Earth. In Chinese, (), meaning ""Ox (asterism)"", refers to an asterism consisting of π Capricorni, β Capricorni, α Capricorni, ξ Capricorni, ο Capricorni and ρ Capricorni. Consequently, π Capricorni itself is known"
"Stars (asterism)"", refers to an asterism consisting of Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka (Orion's Belt) with Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Saiph and Rigel Consequently, Alnitak are known as (, ).. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger. The ""USS Alnitah"" was a United States Navy ""Crater""-class cargo ship named after the star. Alnitak Alnitak, designated Zeta Orionis (ζ Orionis, abbreviated Zeta Ori, ζ Ori) and 50 Orionis (50 Ori), is a multiple star several hundred parsecs from the Sun in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the three main stars of Orion's Belt along with Alnilam and Mintaka."
"Meissa Meissa, designated Lambda Orionis (λ Orionis, abbreviated Lambda Ori, λ Ori) is a star in the constellation of Orion. It is a multiple star approximately away with a combined apparent magnitude of 3.33. The main components are an O8 giant star and a B-class main sequence star, separated by about 4"". ""Lambda Orionis"" is the star's Bayer designation. The traditional name ""Meissa"" derives from the Arabic ""Al-Maisan"" which means 'The Shining One'. ""Al-Maisan"" was originally used for Gamma Geminorum, but was mistakenly applied to Lambda Orionis and the name stuck. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working"
"Alpha Ophiuchi Alpha Ophiuchi (α Ophiuchi, abbreviated Alpha Oph, α Oph), also called Rasalhague, is a binary star and the brightest star in the constellation of Ophiuchus. The name Alpha Ophiuchi is a Romanisation of the star's Bayer designation, ""α Ophiuchi"". It is also known by the traditional name ""Rasalhague"", , meaning ""the head of the serpent collector"". In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the"
"by Orion, whose hunting dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor) pursue it. The constellation is also associated with some lunar mythology, including the Moon rabbit. Four stars of this constellation (α, β, γ, δ Lep) form a quadrilateral and are known as ""‘Arsh al-Jawzā'"", ""the Throne of Jawzā'"" or ""Kursiyy al-Jawzā' al-Mu'akhkhar"", ""the Hindmost Chair of Jawzā'"" and ""al-Nihāl"", ""the Camels Quenching Their Thirst"" in Arabic. There are a fair number of bright stars, both single and double, in Lepus. Alpha Leporis, the brightest star of Lepus, is a white supergiant of magnitude 2.6, 1300 light-years from Earth. Its traditional"
"Alnilam Alnilam, designated Epsilon Orionis (ε Orionis, abbreviated Epsilon Ori, ε Ori) and 46 Orionis (46 Ori), is a large blue supergiant star some 2,000 light-years distant in the constellation of Orion. It is estimated to be 275,000 to 832,000 times as luminous as the Sun, and 30-64.5 times as massive. It is the 29th-brightest star in the sky (the 4th-brightest in Orion) and is a blue-white supergiant. Together with Mintaka and Alnitak, the three stars make up the belt of Orion, known by many names across many ancient cultures. Alnilam is the middle star. It is slightly variable, from"
"Mira Mira , alternatively designated Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet) is a red giant star estimated to be 200–400 light years from the Sun in the constellation of Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a variable red giant (Mira A) along with a white dwarf companion (Mira B). Mira A is a pulsating variable star and was the first non-supernova variable star discovered, with the possible exception of Algol. ο Ceti (Latinised to ""Omicron Ceti"") is the star's Bayer designation. It was named Mira (Latin for 'wonderful' or 'astonishing') by Johannes Hevelius"
"""Rigel"", though that is ambiguous with Beta Orionis, which is also called Rigel. The name ""Toliman"" originates with Jacobus Golius' 1669 edition of Al-Farghani's ""Compendium"". ""Tolimân"" is Golius' latinisation of the Arabic name ""the ostriches"", the name of an asterism of which Alpha Centauri formed the main star. During the 19th century, the northern amateur popularist Elijah H. Burritt used the now-obscure name ""Bungula"", possibly coined from ""β"" and the Latin ""ungula"" (""hoof""). Together, Alpha and Beta Centauri form the ""Southern Pointers"" or ""The Pointers"", as they point towards the Southern Cross, the asterism of the constellation of Crux. In"
"remain in use, likely because of their proximity to the north celestial pole. Within the constellation's borders, there are 39 stars brighter than or equal to apparent magnitude 6.5. Marking the Little Bear's tail, Polaris, or Alpha Ursae Minoris, is the brightest star in the constellation, varying between apparent magnitude 1.97 and 2.00 over a period of 3.97 days. Located around 432 light-years away from Earth, it is a yellow-white supergiant that varies between spectral types F7Ib and F8Ib, and has around 6 times the Sun's mass, 2,500 times its luminosity and 45 times its radius. Polaris is the brightest"
"by Gustav Holst. This table provides a non-exhaustive list of angular measurements conducted since 1920. Also included is a column providing a current range of radii for each study based on Betelgeuse's most recent distance estimate (Harper ""et al."") of 197 ± 45 pc. Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, also designated Alpha Orionis (α Orionis, abbreviated Alpha Ori, α Ori), is on average the ninth-brightest star in the night sky and second-brightest in the constellation of Orion. It is distinctly reddish, and is a semiregular variable star whose apparent magnitude varies between 0.0 and 1.3, the widest range of any first-magnitude star. Betelgeuse"