Star Search - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Taurus. Aldebaran, the Follower (of the Pleiades), is the Bull's eye.
• A2) Aquila. Altair is one corner of the Summer Triangle with Deneb and Vega.
• A3) Scorpius. Antares is a red supergiant in the Milky Way galaxy with a diameter 800 times as large as our Sun's.
• A4) Bootes. Arcturus, the third brightest star in the sky, is the Guardian of the Bear for its location near Ursus Major, the Bear.
• A5) Carina. Canopus, the second brightest star, can only be seen as far north as San Francisco. It is almost 15,000 times as strong as the sun, but is 316 light-years away.
• A6) Gemini. Castor and Pollux are the twins from Roman mythology. Because Castor's father was the mortal Tyndareus while Pollux's was the immortal Zeus, Pollux asked his father to immortalize Castor when his brother died.
• A7) Cygnus. Deneb is a white supergiant, 60,000 times as strong as the sun but dimmed by being approximately 1,500 light-years away.
• A8) Ursa Minor. The North Star, which is 430 light years distant, is currently 0.7 degrees away from direct north as described by the rotation of the Earth.
• A9) Orion. Rigel, the sixth brightest star (technically a triple star system), is the Hunter's left foot, and Betelgeuse, the ninth brightest star, is the right shoulder.
• A10) Canis Major. Sirius, the brightest star, was named for the Greek seirius, meaning "scorching".
• A11) Virgo. Spica is the 15th brightest star, while Porrima is a double star also known as Arich.
• A12) Lyra. Vega, the fifth brightest star, takes its turn as the North Star every 25,000 years or so.