المملكة: With its orange color, the “spearfish” shines in the summer sky and reveals the history of our galaxy

The President of the Astronomical Society in Jeddah, Engineer Majid Abu Zahra, explained that the skies of the Arab world witness during the clear nights of June and throughout the summer the appearance of a bright star, which is one of the most prominent Stars in the sky, which is the star of the spearfish (Arcturus), one of the brightest stars that can be observed with the naked eye.

He explained that the star appears in a yellowish-orange color towards the east at the beginning of the night, then it gradually rises to become high in the sky during the evening hours, indicating that its size is about 25 times the radius of the sun, while its age is estimated at about seven to eight billion years, and it is located at a distance of approximately 37 light-years from Earth.

The star of the spearfish

He added that the starfish is located within the Howling constellation and is considered its brightest star. It also ranks fourth among the brightest stars in the night sky after Sirius, Suhail, and Rijal Orion, and it is considered the brightest star that can be seen from the northern hemisphere.

Abu Zahra explained that the spearfish belongs to the Giant stars are orange, which means that they went through advanced evolutionary stages after consuming the hydrogen fuel in their core, which caused them to expand and approach the final stages of their stellar life. Its surface temperature is about four thousand degrees Celsius, which is lower than the temperature of the surface of the sun, which is what gives it its distinctive orange color.

He pointed out that if the spearfish replaced the sun in our solar system, its enormous size would make its surface extend to a distance close to the orbit of the planet Mercury, pointing out that its noticeable brightness, despite its great distance, is due to its huge diameter and intense brightness.

The movement of the star and the way it is used. He observed it

and confirmed that this star is also characterized by a clear self-motion across the sky compared to With distant stars, as astronomical studies indicate that it may be linked to the remains of a dwarf galaxy that merged with the Milky Way galaxy in the distant past, which makes it an important target for researchers studying the history and development of our galaxy.

He added that finding the spearfish does not require much experience in observation, as its location can be easily determined by following the arc drawn by the stars of the handle of the Ursa Major constellation until reaching it, which is the astronomical method known as the phrase “Follow Sagittarius to the fish.”

Abu Zahra pointed out that although the star Sirius surpasses the star Cyrus in degree of brightness, it does not appear in the evening sky during the summer in the northern hemisphere, which makes the star Cyrus one of the most prominent stellar features that adorn the summer sky, and attracts the interest of observational and astronomical photography enthusiasts.

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