Celestial Navigation Stars Trivia Quiz

Answer: Declination

Incredibly there are about 6,000 stars that can be seen from Earth under optimal conditions by human sight alone. Since 1958 the US Naval Observatory and Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office have jointly published the "Nautical Almanac" which included the fifty-eight celestial navigation stars based on their brightness, ease of identification, and distribution across the celestial sphere.

Answer: Polaris

Polaris is considered the northern pole star because it is located at a declination near the celestial north pole. Polaris is actually a multiple star system with the largest star having a size of 4.5 solar masses. The distance from Earth to Polaris is estimated at 434 light years.

Answer: Pollux

Pollux is the brightest star in the constellation Gemini and it is typically paired with its 'twin' star Castor which is actually a system of six individual stars. In 2006 an extrasolar planet was found orbiting Pollux and it was given the name Thestias.

Answer: Bellatrix

The outer envelope of Bellatrix has a temperature of 22,000 Kelvin, about four times as hot as the sun and its color appears blue-white. On the celestial sphere Bellatrix is located at sidereal hour angle 279 and declination North 6°.

Answer: Vega

Vega is the fifth brightest star in the night sky and some astronomers have called it the most important star in the sky after the Sun. In addition to being one of the first stars to have its distance calculated by parallax, Vega is the calibrating star used to measure photometric brightness. At a declination of North 38.78°, Vega can only be seen north of latitude South 51° on Earth.

Answer: Alpha Centauri

There are two main stars in Alpha Centauri known as A and B as well as a red dwarf star called Proxima Centauri (Alpha Centauri C). Although Proxima Centauri is not visible to the naked eye it is the closest star to the Sun. Alpha Centauri A is 50% more luminous than the Sun and its mass is 10% larger whereas Alpha Centauri B has a mass 91% of the Sun and is 45% as luminous. Located at a declination of about South 61°, Alpha Centauri is utilized as a 'pointer' star to locate other stars in the southern hemisphere.

Answer: Canis Major

Adhara is the 23rd brightest star in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of 1.5 and a distance of 430 light years. Incredibly when Adhara was the brightest star in the night sky it was located just 34 light years from the Sun. Adhara appears on the flag of Brazil along with 26 other stars. Sirius, also located in Canis Major, is the brightest star in the night sky and it is estimated to be so until the year 212000.

Answer: Miaplacidus

Of the fifty-eight celestial navigation stars, Miaplacidus has the most southerly declination at South 69° 43′. Miaplacidus has a mass 3.5 times that of the Sun and it lies in the same constellation as Canopus, the second-brightest star in the night sky.

Answer: Acrux

Acrux is also known as Alpha Crucis and it is located in the constellation Crux. Within Crux is an asterism of stars known as the Southern Cross of which Acrux is one of the pointer stars. There are two massive, primary stars that make up Acrux designated as α1 and α2 with masses approximately 10 to 14 times that of the Sun. On the celestial sphere Acrux can be located at sidereal hour angle 174 and declination South 63°.

Answer: Arcturus

Arcturus is the zenith star of the Hawaiian Islands and before modern technological innovations the star was used by navigators when traveling to areas such as Polynesia. The Chicago World's Fair of 1933 began when the automatic lights came on after the rays of Arcturus were detected. Arcturus is located 36.7 light years from Earth and on the celestial sphere it can be found at sidereal hour angle 146 and declination North 19°.