Table of Contents

Acknowledgements. Introduction. Part One: Stars in the Sky. 1. How Bright I s Bright? 2. Meet the 1st-Magnitude Stars. 3. The Locations, Yearly Motions, and Names of the Stars. 4. Seeing Stars Better (Skies, Eyes, and Telescopes). Part Two: Stars in the Universe. 5. Parts, Structures, Distances, and Motions in the Universe. 6. The Varieties of the Stars. 7. The Lives and Deaths of the Stars. Part Three: Profiles of the Brightest Stars. 8. Sirius. 9. Canopus. 10. Alpha Centauri. 11. Arcturus. 12. Vega. 13. Capella. 14. Rigel. 15. Procyon. 16. Achernar. 17. Betelgeuse. 18. Beta Centauri. 19. Beta Crucis. 20. Altair. 21. Aldebaran. 22. Spica. 23. Antares. 24. Pollux. 25. Fomalhaut. 26. Beta Crucis. 27. Deneb. 28. Regulus. Appendix A. The Brightest Stars: Position, Spectral Type, Apparent and Absolute Magnitude, and Distance. Appendix B. The Brightest Stars: Spectral type, Color Index, Color, and Surface temperature. Appendix C. Midnight and 9:00 P.M. Culminations, Season of Prime Evening Visibility. Appendix D. Diameters and Masses of the Brightest Stars. Appendix E. Motions of the Brightest Stars. Appendix F. The 200 Brightest Stars. Glossary. Sources. Illustration Credits. Index.

About the Author

Fred Schaaf, the writer of two popular long-running features in Sky & Telescope magazine, is the author of twelve books on popular astronomy, including The 50 Best Sights in Astronomy and How to See Them, Seeing the Deep Sky, and Seeing the Solar System, all from Wiley.