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Why do you think it is important to have some knowledge of astronomy}?what is the value of knowing a bunch of astronomy facts? The simple answer is because its a subject that a large number of people are interested in - and if you want to be able to talk to them about it, the odd fact never goes astray. In fact, its really important to know at least a few astronomy facts - you never know when you will be needing them - it might be at a party, at your school or while you are trying to impress that cute girl - who knows the exact reason - but it is very likely that you will need them at some point or other…… Have you any idea how much astronomical data is physically available?? To count the stars in the universe you need a one followed by 22 zeros and an awful lot of time. Then consider that many of those stars have planets surrounding them.

Then consider the moons that surround the planets, the asteroids, the nebula, the galaxies, and all the other stuff the universe contains. The number of facts and amount of data is staggering. This short discussion can not cover everything. This information, however, is interesting. Click through here for more info relating to compact binoculars.

Looking at it simply from the point of view of the brightest stars we can see from earth is one way to approach it. That’s discounting the Sun which is about 250,000 times closer than the next nearest star. The sun is so bright that it simply smothers out all of the other stars in the daylight sky}. Keep in mind that in the scale for the magnitudes given, lower numbers are brighter. The sun is approximately 26.73, with the full moon weighing in at -12.6. And now to the top five.

#1 is the Arabic word for eagle or vulture, Vega. As seen from Earth its magnitude is .03. Just because a star looks brighter from Earth doesn’t mean it’s really brighter. The sun is only a moderately bright star, but because of its proximity to the Earth it appears to be so bright.

#2 is, in arabic, centaur’s foot - Rigel Kentaurus. It’s about four light years from Earth with a magnitude of -.01.

At #3, is Arcturus, according to the information about astronomy we know. That’s the Greek word for Guardian on the bear. It’s 37 light-years distant from our home on Earth.

Canopus sits at #4. In reality it’s the brightest of all of these top five stars. But because of its distance, 313 light-years from Earth, it only appears to be second brightest. From earth its magnitude is -.62|its magnitude is 62 as seen from the earth}.

#5 is the Greek word for scorching, Sirius. Sirius is also known as the Dog Star because it’s the brightest star in the constellation of Big Dog. Only 9 light-years separate Sirius and the earth, that’s the second nearest in this top five list. It’s appears to be the brightest star in the sky, with a magnitude of -1.44.

There is much more information about astronomy out there. But it’s something to consider next time you look into the sky. You will obtain additional invaluable info relating to astronomical binoculars here.

Filed under: Hobbies on March 7th, 2010