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Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinized to Alpha Ursae Minoris) and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that fluctuates around 1.98, [3] it is the brightest star in the constellation and is readily visible to the naked eye at ...
Apparent magnitude (m) is a measure of the brightness of a star, ... The Harvard Photometry used an average of 100 stars close to Polaris to define magnitude 5.0. [12]
Northern Hemisphere circumpolar stars around Polaris, with a long-exposure producing a star trail photo. A pole star is a visible star that is approximately aligned with the axis of rotation of an astronomical body; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one of the celestial poles.
The apparent magnitude (m) is the brightness of an object and depends on an object's intrinsic luminosity, its distance, and the extinction reducing its brightness. The absolute magnitude (M) describes the intrinsic luminosity emitted by an object and is defined to be equal to the apparent magnitude that the object would have if it were placed ...
For example, Betelgeuse has the K-band apparent magnitude of −4.05. [5] Some stars, like Betelgeuse and Antares, are variable stars, changing their magnitude over days, months or years. In the table, the range of variation is indicated with the symbol "var". Single magnitude values quoted for variable stars come from a variety of sources.
The final characteristic provided in the tables and star charts is the star's brightness, expressed in terms of apparent magnitude. Magnitude is a logarithmic scale of brightness, designed so that a body of one magnitude is approximately 2.512 times brighter than a body of the next magnitude.
This is a list of the brightest natural objects in the sky.This list orders objects by apparent magnitude from Earth, not anywhere else.This list is with reference to naked eye viewing; all objects are listed by their visual magnitudes, and objects too close together to be distinguished are listed jointly.
Polaris, the brightest star in the constellation, is a yellow-white supergiant and the brightest Cepheid variable star in the night sky, ranging in apparent magnitude from 1.97 to 2.00. Beta Ursae Minoris , also known as Kochab, is an aging star that has swollen and cooled to become an orange giant with an apparent magnitude of 2.08, only ...