Monday, June 10, 2024

Jewels of the Northern Crown (all night)

The distinctive constellation of Corona Borealis (the Northern Crown) sits about 20 degrees to the northeast of the bright star Arcturus. A circle of seven stars approximately 7 degrees across forms a tiara festooned by the bright star Alphekka or 'jewel'. In mythology, this crown was given to Princess Ariadne of Crete by Dionysus, who married her years after she helped Theseus escape the Minotaur. Most of Corona Borealis' unaided-eye stars are variable. Alphekka is a hot, blue-white star 78 light-years from the sun and is similar in nature to Vega and winter's Sirius, which are much closer. It is also an eclipsing binary star, in which a smaller orbiting companion star passes in front of the main star every 17.3 days, causing the combined light output to dim slightly.

(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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