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Large Stars in Constellations

Even today, as astronomy involves science, much of what people still know about astronomy relates to mythology. Constellations were created before it was known that stars in the sky acted much like the earth's own sun. Officially, there are 88 constellations, many including some of the largest stars in the sky.

The Great Dog
- The Great Dog -- otherwise known as "Canis Major" -- features a dog-shaped grouping of stars. Making up the front torso of the dog is an extremely bright star in the sky -- Sirius. The nickname for Sirius is "dog star," and it represents the brightest star that can be seen in the night sky. Canis Major combines with other constellations, acting as one of the hunting dogs for the Orion constellation. Sirius is only about nine light-years away from earth and is around twice the size of the sun.
The Twins
- The Twins -- otherwise known as "Gemini" -- is a constellation of Zodiac. It consists of two bright stars in the sky -- Pollux and Castor, as well as a grouping of several other stars. Pollux has a reddish tint and lives about 34 light-years from earth. Although Castor appears to be one star, it is actually a compilation of six stars, all rotating around a common center of mass. The star system is an estimated 49 light-years in distance and is thought to be about 30 times larger than the sun.
Lyra
- The constellation of Lyra is relatively hard to spot when compared to others. It features a rectangle leaning slightly to one side, as well as a partial triangular connection, looking much like a handle. Forming the top of the triangular portion is Vega. According to solstation.com, in 2003 Vega was found to contain extra-solar planets orbiting around it, much like the sun. Although it is unknown as to the number and exact sizes, it is known that Vega has at the very least very large planets, equivalent to the size of Jupiter. It sits about 25 light-years from earth.
The Lion
- The Lion -- also known as "Leo" -- exists directly between the constellations of Cancer and Virgo. Leo consists of many stars, which come together to form the relative figure of a lion. The largest star in the constellation is "Regulus," which can be seen as one of the front feet of Leo. Regulus is much farther away than most large stars in the sky, sitting an estimated 77 light-years in distance. According to earthsky.org, Regulus contains about 350 times more energy than the sun and exists as a double-star system.

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