Do you know how many stars in the sky?

The night sky ... Stars ... The spectacle is fascinating! Bright constellations ... Inviting view of the Milky Way ... How many stars in the sky? I wonder if there is at least one person who, looking with delight and inexplicable awe at the night lights, would not ask himself this question? And, probably, many even tried to count them ...

A bit of history

Do you know who first told the world how many stars in the sky? How long has it been?

About two and a half thousand years ago, the ancient astronomer Hipparchus compiled the first star catalog. What prompted the scientist to think of celebrating the stars? Probably, he was impressed by the fact that he witnessed the appearance of a new, very bright star. Such a significant event for the astronomer could not but leave a mark. Hipparchus decided to fix all the visible stars in order then not to miss the appearance of new stars if this happens. As a result, the astronomer rewrote 1,025 stars. For each, the coordinates and magnitude were determined.

Of course, observations began much earlier. Antique astronomers also had their own works, however, unfortunately, only small bits of them have reached us. Therefore, the first catalog of stars is considered to be the result of the work of Hipparchus. All of them were divided into six categories. The main criterion for selection was brightness. At the same time, the notion of "stellar magnitude" appeared. Of course, Hipparchov's size has undergone changes and has become refined.

About stellar magnitudes

In ancient times it was believed that since the heavenly bodies are located in one sphere, they are also removed from the Earth by one (equal) distance. The stars, which seemed the most dull and barely noticeable, were given the sixth magnitude, and the brightest was the first. In the catalog compiled by Hipparchus, 15 stars were on the first place, 45 on the second, 208 at the third, 474 at the fourth, 217 at the fifth, and 49 (and several nebulae) at the sixth.

As time went. There were new stars, experience appeared, knowledge accumulated. Soon astronomers found out that the radiation of stars is uneven, and they themselves are at different distances. There were new definitions of their magnitude: visual, photovisual, photographic, bolometric.

We count together

Probably, to the question of how many stars in the sky, not even the most authoritative modern astrologer will answer. And this is understandable. How can I disagree with the ancient sages who say that counting stars is as difficult as to name the number of grains of sand on Earth! But here we can give a rough estimate.

What do we need to count the number of grains of sand? Data on the area of the coastline (you can learn from the satellite) and the average thickness of the sand layer. This will help determine the volume of all the sand on the planet (Vz). Now it remains to measure one grain of sand (Vp). Catch it? To get an approximate amount of grains of sand, it remains to perform only one action - to divide Vz into Vp. Of course, the figure will be "rough", but still ...

By the same scheme, we can roughly determine how many stars in the sky. The principle is the same, only instead of the beaches - the galaxy. Consider. About 10 ¹² stars in our Galaxy. And how many then are they in the universe? Let us give you pleasure in answering the question yourself, giving only a small clue: galaxies are about the same - 10 ¹² .

You can only multiply.

Name of stars in the sky

The brightest lights of humanity began to give names thousands of years ago. This is Sirius, and Vega, and Aldebaran, and Antares, and many others. Those stars, whose brightness is slightly weaker, were denoted by letters from the Greek alphabet and numerals. Some of them did not even get a number. They were simply recorded on maps, indicating the coordinates and indicating the strength of the brightness (brightness).

The brightest star in the universe is the blue UW Sma. In the visible sky, Deneb leads, from the nearest to us - Sirius, in the solar system - Venus.