The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to stars:
A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of light. The most prominent stars have been categorised into constellations and asterisms, and many of the brightest stars have proper names. Astronomers have assembled star catalogues that identify the known stars and provide standardized stellar designations. The observable universe contains an estimated 1022 to 1024 stars. Only about 4,000 of these stars are visible to the naked eye—all within the Milky Way galaxy.
What type of thing are stars?
editStars can be described as all of the following:
Types of stars
editTypes of stars, by luminosity
editTypes of stars, by spectral classification
editFields that study stars
editHistory of stars
editStellar evolution
editStar-related organizations
editStar-related publications
editPersons involved with stars
editSee also
editReferences
editExternal links
edit- Kaler, James. "Portraits of Stars and their Constellations". University of Illinois. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- "Query star by identifier, coordinates or reference code". SIMBAD. Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- "How To Decipher Classification Codes". Astronomical Society of South Australia. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- Prialnick, Dina; et al. (2001). "Stars: Stellar Atmospheres, Structure, & Evolution". University of St. Andrews. Retrieved 2010-08-20.