Cygnus, the Swan
The constellation’s brightest star is Deneb — an Arabic word that means “the tail.” Deneb represents the tail of the […]
Aquila, the Eagle
The brightest star in Aquila is Altair, “the eagle,” a white star that is about 17 light-years from Earth. Altair
Ursa Major, the Great Bear
Of all the star patterns in the sky, the Big Dipper is the most universally recognized. The dipper’s seven bright
Leo, the Lion
Leo’s brightest star is blue-white Regulus, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It is about 79 light-years
Boötes, the Herdsman
Arcturus, the fourth-brightest star in Earth’s night sky, is about 25 times larger than the Sun, and it produces about
Energy: Tools of the Trade
When we look at a rainbow, we see sunlight spread out into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. But
Dark Energy
One of the most stupendous discoveries in astronomy came with the recent application of supernovae — the explosions of massive
Dark Matter
All of the stars, galaxies, and nebulae seen by telescopes make up only four percent of the contents of the
Age of the Universe
Astronomers use several different methods to date the universe. In recent years, results from these differing methods have been coming
The Whole Universe
Cosmology deals with one of mankind’s earliest questions: what is the nature of the world? Ancient civilizations believed that Earth