FIVE SECRETS BEHIND STARS

Star is a gaseous luminous body that is very bright like the sun in the solar system. The solar system and its elements are the spirals of mysteries that stash many unrevealed secrets. In this article, we are going to see the significant Five secrets behind stars. 1. Why do stars twinkle? 2. What are double stars? 3. How many stars can we see at night? 4. Why some stars are brighter than others? 5. Which is the brightest star?

1. Why do stars twinkle?

Inside the core of a star, nuclear fusion reactions happen, and as a result, that heat and light are produced. This light goes out and travels through space, the solar system, atmosphere, and finally reaches the ground. As there are many layers in the atmosphere, the movement of the starlight bends, and this phenomenon is known as ‘refraction’.  While some light bends, some reach directly towards us and appear as twinkling to our eyes. Stars on the horizon glitter more due to the greater layer of atmosphere there. If we’re in outer space like the moon or other planets, we can’t see the gleaming of stars due to the absence of the atmosphere.

2. What are double stars?

Double stars are the pairs of stars that remain close to each other and there are two types of double stars- binaries and optical pairs. In binary stars, two stars revolve around a common point or one circle around the other and they can’t be seen separately even through the telescope as they are very close to each other. But, using a spectroscope they can be easily differentiated by spotting two stars shining very close. In optical pairs, two stars lie in the same line of vision when observed from the earth's surface and they are separated by hundreds of light-years.

3. How many stars can we see at night?

It’s a mesmerizing view to watch the numerous glimmering stars in the sky at night, but it’s surprising that we’re only seeing about 6000 stars without a telescope. This doesn’t suggest that we can count 6000 stars every night. We can only see half of the stars from a particular place on the Earth and the remaining stars near the horizon aren’t visible due to haziness. But, if we are gazing at stars through a telescope, we would see many more stars. And, it is even possible to view more than 1,000,000,000 stars through a powerful telescope.

4. Why some stars are brighter than others?

 We might have noticed that some stars are bigger and brighter than others. One of the accepted ways to recognize a star is by studying the light is emitted. By this, astronomers found that the stars range from blue to red with yellow in the mid. Blue stars are 50,000 degrees celsius and remain hot whereas red stars are cooler with a surface temperature of 3,500 degrees celsius. Our sun with yellow color is 6,000 degrees celsius. Magnitude refers to the brightness of a star and it is denoted by numbers. The magnitude will be lessened if the number is large. Depending on this magnitude and distance, some stars seem brighter than others.

5. Which is the brightest star?

Stars of the first magnitude are brightest and of the sixth magnitude are blurred, which can’t be seen with our naked eyes. With the invention of much scientific equipment like telescopes, now we are able to gaze at the stars up to the magnitude of the twenty-first. The brightest star in the sky is Sirius with a magnitude of 1.45 and they twinkle more brightly and we can even see with our naked eyes.

Stargazing is always a mesmerizing experience and let’s enjoy it more by realizing these secrets behind stars.