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What Stars Are in the Southern Sky?

There is a rich star field to be seen in the southern latitudes. One of the ways stars are classified is by how hot they are. The hottest stars in the main sequence are O stars, followed by B, A, F, G, K and M. (People can remember this as "Oh be a fine girl kiss me.") There are also classifications that designate whether a star is a supergiant, on the main sequence, or a dwarf star, with I being a supergiant and VII being a dwarf.

B stars
- Achernar, or Alpha Eridani, belongs to the constellation Eridanus, the river. The name Achernar means "end of the river." Achernar is a B3Vpe type star and is the ninth brightest star in the sky. It's about 144 light-years from Earth. The Peacock Star is the alpha star in Pavo, which is the peacock constellation. It's a B2IV star about 200 light-years from Earth.
A Stars
- Miaplacidus means "placid waters" and is the beta star of the constellation Carina, which means keel. It's an A2IV star about 111 light-years from Earth. Cor Caroli is the alpha 2 star in Canes Venatici, or the hunting dogs. They are the dogs of Bootes as he hunts for the bears Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The name of the star means "heart of Charles" in Latin, and it was named for Charles II of England. It's an A0 star about 110 light-years from Earth.
K Stars
- Alphard is a K3II-III star in the constellation Hydra and means "heart of the hydra." Alphard is 85 light-years from Earth. Keid, or Omicron 2 Eridani, is a triple star system. It's interesting because the primary star, A, is supposed to have a habitable zone around it. Many Star Trek fans postulate that this star is the home star of the fictional planet Vulcan. Keid means "broken eggshell," and it's a K1-V star about 16 light-years from Earth.
Mira and the Yeds
- Mira's name means "wonderful." It's a variable star with a brightness that changes over time. It's also called Omicron Ceti, in the constellation Cetus. Cetus is the whale or the sea monster. Mira is a M7IIIe+Bep star and is a long-period variable, which means it takes weeks to complete a cycle from one level of brightness to the other. It was the first variable star to be discovered, and its cycles could be seen with the naked eye even before the development of the telescope. Mira is about 200 light-years from Earth. Yed Prior and Yed Posterior are Delta and Epsilon Ophiuchi in the constellation Ophiuchis, the serpent bearer. Yed means "hand." Prior signifies "before" or "western" while Posterior signifies "after" or "eastern." Yed Posterior is a G8III star about 100 light-years from Earth, and Yed Prior is an M1 III star about 140 light-years from Earth.

Astronomy