Aryabhat Astronomy Quiz

Study Material Part 2

Stars and Constellations

The whole sky has been divided into star groups that move together. In the ancient
astronomy, there were 48 constellations but in 1930, the astronomers of the whole world
decided to reorganise the stellar objects, and modern astronomy goes with 88 constellations.
A list of all constellations is given here :

Names of 88 constellation in the whole sky

Andromeda Circinus Lacerta Pisces Austrinus
Antlia Columba Leo Puppis
Apus Coma Berenices Leo Minor Pyxis
Aquarius Corona Australis Lepus Reticulum
Aquila Corona Borealis Libra Sagitta
Ara Corvus Lupus Sagittarius
Aries Crater Lynx Scorpius
Auriga Crux Lyra Sculptor
Bootes Cygnus Mensa Scutum
Caelum Delphinus Microscopium Serpens
Camelopardalis Dorado Monocerus Sextans
Cancer Draco Musca Taurus
Canes Venatici Equuleus Norma Telescopium
Canis Major Eridanus Octans Triangulum
Canis Minor Fornax Ophiuchus Triangulum Australe
Capricornus Gemini Orion Tucana
Carina Grus Pavo Ursa Major
Cassiopeia Hercules Pegasus Ursa Minor
Centaurus Horologium Perseus Vela
Cepheus Hydra Phoenix Virgo
Cetus Hydrus Pictor Volans
Chamaeleon Indus Pisces Vulpecula

Brightest Stars
Each star is an individual with its own personality. Thousands are visible on any clear night
far removed from city lights. Together, with the faint glow of myriad others, the tapestry of
the celestial sphere is fashioned. Stars come in different colors, sizes, shapes and ages.
One trait that makes a star unique is its brightness.

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Astronomers measure the brightness of a celestial object according to a system originally
devised by Hipparchus in 120 B.C. Hipparchus ranked the brightness of stars in the sky on a
scale of 1 to 6 as seen from the Earth. The brightest stars he could see were classified as
first magnitude and the faintest were sixth magnitude.
Centuries later we still use the magnitude scale of Hipparchus, although it has since been
modernized.
The magnitude scale is logarithmic; one magnitude difference is equal to a brightness
difference of about 2.5 times. So a magnitude 1 star is about 100 times brighter than a
magnitude 5 star. The brighter planets and stars have negative magnitudes. The Sun, being
the brightest object in the sky, has a magnitude of –26, followed by the full Moon at
magnitude –11. Objects with a magnitude of 6 or less can be seen without optical aid under
ideal observing conditions away from all local lighting.
The following is a catalog of the ten brightest stars that grace the celestial sphere, an
imaginary projection of Earth into space. All the stars are drawn on the inside of this sphere,
even though stars of course exist in space at varying distances. As on Earth, the celestial
sphere is split into northern and southern half’s, called hemispheres.
As seen from our corner of the galaxy, these are lighthouses of the heavens and can be
enjoyed even from the heart of metropolitan areas.

1. Sirius
All stars shine but none do it like Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Aptly named,
Sirius comes from the Greek word Seirius, meaning, "searing" or "scorching." Blazing at a
visual magnitude of –1.42, it is twice as bright as any other star in our sky.
Sirius resides in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog, and is commonly called the Dog
Star. In ancient Greek times the dawn rising of Sirius marked the hottest part of summer.
This is the origin of the phrase "dog days of summer."
Because of Earth’s 26,000-year precession cycle, in which the planet's axis slowly wobbles
due to the gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon on the Earth’s equatorial bulge, Sirius
no longer marks the hottest part of summer, rising later in the year. Precession gradually
changes the location of stars on the celestial sphere.
Sirius is best seen at a favorable time during the winter months for northern hemisphere
observers. To find the Dog Star, use the constellation of Orion as a guide. Follow the three-
belt stars -- obvious targets even for casual skywatchers -- 20 degrees southeast to the
brightest star in the sky. Your fist at arm's length covers about 10 degrees of sky.
Sirius, the red giant star Betelgeuse, and Procyon in Canis Minor form a popular asterism
known as the Winter Triangle.
Intrinsically, Sirius is 23 times more luminous and about twice the mass and diameter of the
Sun. Of course it’s farther away from Earth than the Sun. But not too far, cosmically
speaking. At a mere 8.5 light-years away, Sirius seems so bright in part because it is fifth
closest star to the Sun.
The brilliance of Sirius illuminates not only our night skies, but also our comprehension of
them. While observing it in 1718, Edmund Halley, of comet Halley fame, discovered that
stars move in relation to one another – a principle now known as proper motion.
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In 1844, German astronomer Friedrich Bessel observed that Sirius had a wobble, as if being
tugged by a companion. While testing his new 18.5-inch lens in 1862 (the largest refracting
telescope in the world at that time), Alvan Clark solved this mystery by discovering that
Sirius was not one star but two; the first compact stellar remnant had been discovered, and it
would prove to be a pioneer of what would be later referred to as a whole class of white
dwarf stars.
The companion, dubbed Sirius B, has the mass of the Sun in a package as small as the
Earth, having collapsed after depleting its hydrogen. A single cubic inch of matter from this
companion star would weigh 2.25 tons on Earth. At magnitude 8.5, it is 1/400th as luminous
as the Sun. The brighter and larger companion is now known as Sirius A

2. Canopus
Canopus resides in the constellation Carina, The Keel. Carina is one of three modern-day
constellations that formed the ancient constellation of Argo Navis, the ship Jason and the
Argonauts sailed in to search for the Golden Fleece. Two other constellations form the Sail
(Vela) and Stern (Puppis).
In modern odysseys, spacecraft such as Voyager 2 used the light from Canopus to orient
themselves in the sea of space.
Canopus is a true powerhouse. Its brilliance from our terrestrial vantage point is due more to
its great luminosity than its proximity. Though 316 light-years away, No. 2 on our list is
14,800 times the intrinsic luminosity of the Sun. (Recall that the brightest star, Sirius, is just
8.5 light-years distant.)
With a magnitude of –0.72, Canopus is easy to find in the night sky, though it is only visible
at latitudes south of 37 degrees north (roughly south of Pittsburg).
To catch a glimpse of it from middle and southern locations in the United States, look for a
bright star low on the southern horizon during the winter months. Canopus is located 36
degrees below the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. The further south you are, the better your
view will be.
Canopus is a yellow-white F super giant -- a star with a temperature from 10,000 to 14,000
degrees Fahrenheit (6,000 to 8,000 Kelvin) -- that has ceased hydrogen fusion and is now in
the process of converting its core helium into carbon. This process as led to its current size,
65 times that of the Sun. If we were to replace our Sun with Canopus, it would almost
envelope Mercury.
Canopus will eventually become one of the largest white dwarfs in the galaxy and may just
be massive enough to fuse its carbon, turning into a rare neon-oxygen white dwarf. These
are rare because most white dwarfs have carbon-oxygen cores. But a massive star like
Canopus can begin to burn its carbon into neon and oxygen as the star evolves into a small,
dense and cooler object.
Canopus lost its place in the celestial hierarchy for a short time in the 1800s when the star
Eta Carinae underwent a massive outburst, surpassing Canopus in brightness and briefly
becoming the second brightest star in the sky.

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3. Rigil Kentaurus
Alpha Centauri (or Rigel Kentaurus, as it is also known) is actually a system composed of
three gravitationally bound stars. The two main stars are Alpha Centauri A and Alpha
Centauri B. The tiniest star in the
system is a red dwarf known as Alpha
Centauri C.
The Alpha Centauri system is a special
one. At an average distance of 4.3 light-
years, these stars are our nearest
known neighbors in space beyond the
solar system.
Centauri A and B are remarkably Sun-like, with Centauri A being a near twin of the Sun
(both are yellow G stars). In comparison to the Sun, Alpha Centauri A is 1.5 times as
luminous and shines at magnitude -0.01 while Alpha Centauri B is half as luminous and
shines at magnitude 1.3.
Alpha Centauri C, is 7,000 times fainter and shines at 11th magnitude.
Of the three stars, the littlest is the closest star to the Sun. At 4.22 light-years away, it would
take 4.22 years traveling at light speed to get to Alpha Centauri C. Because of its proximity,
it is known as Proxima Centauri.
When night falls and the skies are clear, the Alpha Centauri system shines at a magnitude of
–0.27 low in the southern sky during the summer months. You can find it at the foot of the
Centaur in the constellation of Centaurus.
Because of its position in the sky, the Alpha Centauri system is not easily visible in much of
the Northern Hemisphere. An observer must be at latitudes south of 28 degrees north (or
roughly from Naples, Florida and locations further south) to see the closest stellar system to
us.
The two brighter components of the system make a wonderful double star to observe in a
small telescope.
Naked-eye Alpha Centauri appears so bright because it is so close. This also means that it
has a large proper motion – the drifting of stars relative to each other due to their actual
motion and direction in space. In another 4,000 years Alpha Centauri will have moved near
enough to Beta Centauri for the two to form an apparent double star.

4. Arcturus
Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. (The first three stars on
this list are actually in the southern celestial sphere, though seasonally they are visible from
the northern hemisphere of Earth).
Known as the Bear Watcher, Arcturus follows Ursa Major, the Great Bear, around the north
celestial pole. The name itself derives from the Greek word arktos, meaning bear.
Arcturus is an orange giant, twice as massive and 215 times as bright as the Sun. It takes 37
years for the light of Arcturus to reach us, so when we gaze upon it, we are seeing the star
as it looked 37 years ago. It glows at magnitude –0.04 in our night skies.

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A variable star, Arcturus is in the last stages of its normal life.
During a struggle between gravity and pressure, it has swelled to 25 times the Sun’s
diameter. Eventually the outer envelope of Arcturus will be peeled away and the material
ejected as a planetary nebula similar to the famed Ring Nebula in Lyra. What will be left
behind is a white dwarf.
Arcturus is the Alpha (meaning brightest) star of the springtime constellation Bootes, The
Herdsman. You can find it by using the Big Dipper as your celestial guidepost. Follow the arc
of the handle until you come to a bright orange star. This is Arcturus, forming the point of a
pattern of stars resembling a kite.
In the spring, if you keep following the arc, you’ll encounter another bright star, Spica. If this
all sounds a bit confusing remember this phrase: "Arc to Arcturus, speed on to Spica."
In the 1930’s when astronomers were busy measuring the distance to nearby stars, Arcturus
was believed to be 40 light-years distant. With emergent photocell technology employed at
the 1933 World Fair in Chicago, the light from Arcturus was collected and used to activate a
series of switches. Light believed to originate at the time of the previous Chicago World Fair
-- the city had hosted it 40 years prior -- was used to illuminate and officially open the Fair in
1933.
We now know Arcturus is 37 light-years away, however.

5. Vega
The name Vega derives from the Arabic word for Swooping Eagle or Vulture. Vega is the
luminary of Lyra, the Harp, a small but prominent constellation that is home to the Ring
Nebula and the star Epsilon Lyrae.
The Ring is a luminous shell of gas that was ejected from an old star. It resembles a smoke
ring or donut. Epsilon Lyrae appears to the naked-eye as a double star, but through a small
telescope you can see that the two individual stars are themselves double! Epsilon Lyrae is
popularly known as the "double double."
Vega is a hydrogen-burning dwarf star, 54 times more luminous and 1.5 times more massive
than the Sun. At 25 light-years away, it is relatively close to us. It shines, therefore, with a
magnitude of 0.03 in the night sky.
In 1984, a disk of cool gas surrounding Vega was discovered -- the first of its kind. The disk
extends 70 Earth-Sun distances from the star. The discovery was important because a
similar disk is theorized to have played an integral role in planet development within our own
solar system.
Interestingly, a ‘hole’ was found in the Vega disk, indicating the possibility that planets might
have coalesced and formed around the star. It was not by random choice that Carl Sagan
selected Vega as the source of radio transmissions received from an advanced alien culture
when he wrote the book that was the basis for the movie "Contact.
Together with the bright stars Altair and Deneb, Vega forms the popular Summer Triangle
asterism that announces the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The
asterism crosses the hazy band of the Milky Way, which is split into two near Deneb by a
large dust cloud called the Cygnus Rift.

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This area of the sky is ideal for sweeping with binoculars of any size in dark-sky conditions.
Vega was the first star to be photographed, on the night of July 16-17, 1850 by photographer
J.A. Whipple. With the daguerreotype camera used at the time, he made an exposure of 100
seconds using a 15-inch refractor telescope at Harvard University. Fainter stars (those of
2nd magnitude and dimmer) would not have registered at all given the technology of the
time.
Vega used to be the North Star, but 12,000 years of Earth’s precession has altered its place
in the celestial sphere. Precession is the 26,000 year wobble of the Earth’s axis due to the
gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon on the Earth’s equatorial bulge. In another
14,000 years, Vega will be the North Star once again.

6. Capella
Capella is the primary star in the constellation Auriga the "Charioteer" and the brightest star
that is near the north celestial pole.
Capella is a fascinating star system comprised of two similar class G yellow giant stars and a
pair of much fainter red dwarf stars. The brighter yellow giant, known as Aa, is 80 times
more luminous and nearly three times more massive than our Sun. The fainter yellow giant,
known as Ab, is 50 times more luminous than the Sun and two-and-a-half times as massive.
The combined luminosity of the two stars is about 130 suns.
The Capella system is 42 light-years away, its light reaching us with a magnitude of 0.08.
It is highest in the winter months and circumpolar (meaning it never sets) at latitudes higher
than 44 degrees north (or roughly north of Toronto, Canada).
To locate it, follow the two top stars that form the pan of the Big Dipper across the sky.
Capella is the brighter star in the irregular pentagon formed by the stars in the constellation
Auriga. South of Capella is a small triangle of stars known as the Kids. One of the most
ancient legends had Auriga as a goat herder and patron of shepherds. The brilliant golden
yellow Capella was known as the She-Goat Star. The nearby triangle of fainter stars
represents her three kids.
Both yellow giants are in the process of dying, and will eventually become a pair of white
dwarf stars.

7. Rigel
On the western heel of Orion, the Hunter, rests brilliant Rigel. In classical mythology, Rigel
marks the spot where Scorpio, the Scorpion stung Orion after a brief and fierce battle. Its
Arabic name means the Foot.
Rigel is a multiple star system. The brighter component, Rigel A, is a blue super giant that
shines a remarkable 40,000 times stronger than the Sun! Although 775 light-years distant, its
light shines bright in our evening skies, at magnitude 0.12.
Rigel resides in the most impressive of the winter constellations, mighty Orion. With the
exception of the Big Dipper, it is the most recognized and easiest to identify constellation. It
helps too that the shape made by Orion’s stars match what the mythical figure represents.

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Three bright stars are lined up together to form the belt of the hunter. The other 4 stars
surrounding the belt compose its shoulders and legs.
Telescope observers should be able to resolve Rigel’s companion, a fairly bright 7th
magnitude star. However the jewel in Orion is the "Great Orion Nebula", a vast stellar
nursery where new stars are still being born. It can be found six moon widths south of the
belt stars.
A heavy star of 17 solar masses, Rigel is likely to go out with a bang some day, or it might
become a rare oxygen-neon white dwarf.

8. Procyon
Procyon resides in the small constellation of Canis Minor, the Little Dog. The constellation
symbolizes the smaller of Orion’s two hunting dogs (Canis Minor and Canis Major).
The word Procyon is Greek for Before the Dog, for the reason that in the Northern
Hemisphere, Procyon announces the rise of Sirius, the Dog Star.
Procyon is a yellow-white main sequence star, twice the size and 7 times more luminous
than the Sun. With the exception of Alpha Centauri, it is the least intrinsically luminous star
on this list. Like Alpha Centauri it appears so bright only because at 11.4 light-years, it is
relatively close.
Procyon is an example of a main sequence "sub giant" star, one that is beginning the death
process by converting its remaining core hydrogen into helium. Procyon is currently twice the
diameter of the Sun, one of the largest stars within 20 light-years.
Canis Major can be found relatively easy east of Orion during Northern Hemisphere winter
months. Procyon, along with Sirius and Betelgeuse, form the Winter Triangle asterism.
Procyon is orbited by a white dwarf companion detected visually in 1896 by John M.
Schaeberle. The fainter companion's existence was first noted in 1840, however, by Arthur
von Auswers who observed irregularities in Procyon's proper motion best explained by a
massive albeit faint companion.
At just one-third the size of Earth, the companion dubbed Procyon B contains 60 percent of
the Sun’s mass. The brighter component is now known as Procyon A.

9. Achernar
Achernar is derived from the Arabic phrase meaning "the end of the river," an appropriate
name for a star that marks the southernmost flow of the constellation Eridanus, the River.
Achernar is the hottest star on this list. Its temperature has been measured to be between
24,740 and 33,740 degrees Fahrenheit (14, 000-19,000 Kelvin). Its luminosity ranges from
2,900 to 5,400 times that of the Sun. Shining at magnitude 0.45, its light takes 144 years to
reach your eye.
Achernar is more or less tied with Betelgeuse (No. 10 on the list) for brightness. However,
Achernar is generally listed as the ninth brightest star in the sky because Betelgeuse is a
variable whose magnitude can drop to less than 1.2, as was the case in 1927 and 1941.

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For Northern Hemisphere observers, Achernar rises in the southeast during the winter
months and is visible only from latitudes south of 32 degrees north; those further north only
see a portion of the constellation.
For Star Trek fans: Eridanus is home to Epsilon Eridanus, the star around which Mr. Spock’s
home planet of Vulcan revolves.
Achernar is a massive class B star containing up to eight solar masses. It is currently
burning its hydrogen into helium and will eventually evolve into a white dwarf star.

10. Betelgeuse
Don’t let Betelgeuse’s ranking as the tenth brightest star in the sky fool you. Its distance --
430 light-years -- hides the true scale of this supergiant. With a whopping luminosity of
55,000 suns, Betelgeuse still shines bright in our skies at a magnitude of 0.5.
Betelgeuse (pronounced beetle juice by most astronomers) derives its name from an Arabic
phrase meaning "the armpit of the central one."
The star marks the eastern shoulder of mighty Orion, the Hunter. Another name for
Betelgeuse is Alpha Orionis, indicating it is the brightest star in the winter constellation of
Orion. However, Rigel (Beta Orionis) is actually brighter. The misclassification happened
because Betelgeuse is a variable star (a star that changes brightness over time) and it might
have been brighter than Rigel when Johannes Bayer originally categorized it.
Betelgeuse is an M1 red supergiant, 650 times the diameter and about 15 times the mass of
the Sun. If Betelgeuse were to replace the Sun, planets out to the orbit of Mars would be
engulfed!
Betelgeuse is an ancient star approaching the end of its life cycle. Because of its mass it
might fuse elements all the way to iron and blow up as a supernova that would be as bright
as the crescent Moon, as seen from Earth. A dense neutron star would be left behind. The
other alternative is that it might evolve into a rare neon-oxygen dwarf.
Betelgeuse was the first star to have its surface directly imaged, a feat accomplished in 1996
with the Hubble Space Telescope.

Galaxies
Edwin Hubbell assigned a naming convention
to galaxies, which remains in use today.
Galaxies come in three main forms, irregular
galaxies with shapes that are amorphous,
elliptical galaxies with a large core and almost
no disk, and spiral galaxies which come in two
forms, those with a large central cylinder of
stars (barred) and those where the spirals go
all the way to the core.
The shapes of galaxies appear to start as spirals of one sort or the other. Over time galaxies
pas near or actually through each other. Currently, a small galaxy [the Sagittarius Galaxy] is
colliding with our Milky Way. When they do this the smaller galaxy loses many of it stars to

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the larger galaxy. If the smaller galaxy comes into too close a contact it may be simply
swallowed by the greater galaxy. If it is somewhat farther away it may escape badly tattered
as an irregular galaxy. This is what seems to have happened to the Large and Small
Magellenic Clouds. After swallowing enough smaller galaxies, the spiral shape disappears
and the galaxy assumes an ever more elliptical shape.
The Great Andromeda is a
classic spiral galaxy. At the
leading edges of reaching
rotating arm, a wave of gas
compression occurs
triggering areas of star
formation. Andromeda is
nearly edge on in this image
but it would look like M74 if
we saw it face on.
Virgo A also known as M87
is many hundreds the times
the mass of our own galaxy. Trillions of stars are believed to populate this great object. Virgo
A is the largest of the galaxies in the so-called Realm of the Galaxies, which spans parts of
Virgo, Coma Berenices and Leo. This area has more galaxies to seen than it has stars
visible to your eye. While it looks rather like a globular cluster, it is billions of times as large.
NGC1300 is a clear example of a barred spiral. Unlike a traditional spiral, the swirling arms
star at the ends of a cylinder of stars, which extends for many tens of thousands of light
years from the center of the barred spiral.

Star Clusters
Open clusters of stars are formed in a common stellar
nursery. In time birthing grounds like M42 and the Omega
Nebula in the southern hemisphere will drive out gas which
has not been included in the newly formed stars. In some
open clusters like the Pleiades traces of the gas still can be
seen in photographs sensitive to blue and ultraviolet light.
[This gauzy gas is not visible to the human eye]. When the
stars were formed they were densely packed. However
they each had their own motions, which over time causes
them to disperse.
Globular clusters are effectively satellites of the galaxy in which they reside. They travels as
units into the central areas of the galaxy on orbits somewhat like comets around the Sun.
Stars in globular clusters are quite unlike stars in the main
disk of the galaxy. Main disk stars like the Sun carry a great
deal of heavier elements (metals to astronomers no matter
what the chemists call them). Sun like stars are called
Population I stars. Stars found in globular clusters lack more
than a tiny percentage of heavy elements and form the
Population II stars. The thin halo of stars outside the plane

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of the galaxy are also Population II stars. Population II stars formed before there had been
many supernovae to create heavier elements. They are first generation stars for the most
part. Population I stars form in the wake of supernovae and contain the heavier elements.
As the globular clusters orbit about the central core, they tend to be densest near the core
and sparser farther out. In our galaxy, the great concentration of globular clusters in
Sagittarius confirms that this constellation harbors the center of the Milky Way. Further tests
have shown that the exact center is a small volume in Sagittarius with at least a mass of 2
billion Suns. This dense area is believed to be a black hole and is called Sagittarius A*.

Nebulae
An emission nebula is gas excited by ultraviolet radiation from
fierce new blue violet stars. This is the same condition, which
occurs in fluorescent and neon lamps. This type of nebula is
typified by M42, the Great Nebula in Orion. The Trapezium as
well as many unseen embedded stars provide the' sources of
ultraviolet radiation.
An absorption nebula is a mixture of gas and particularly dust
dense enough to absorb, redden and even blot out light. These cause dark nebulae like the
Horsehead and the Coal Sack. They cause dark areas like Sagittarius and the Sombrero.
However they do not include "empty lanes" in the Milky Way.
Sometimes a nebula can have regions, which emit while other
regions absorb. This is the case in the Horsehead Nebula shown
here. The dark regions are areas where light has been absorbed
so heavily that the area looks like a dark cloud. The bright
regions are where hydrogen gas is fluorescing emitting a reddish
frequency called the hydrogen beta line. Near the edges of the
dark regions areas absorb much but not all of the light and it is
possible to use a spectrograph to determine the clouds chemical
make up.
When light from a foreground stars shines on background clouds, a reflection nebula is
formed. In some cases, an absorbing nebula can hide the foreground star. Reflection nebula
can sometimes be precisely mapped and measured by timing the pulses of light from a
variable star or a supernova.
Planetary nebulae arise when an aging stars sheds shells of gas as the fusing of hydrogen
leaves the core and moves towards the star's surface. Large explosions (but not as large as
supernovae), progressively strip the star of material. If the star manages to shed enough
material, then it will end up as a white dwarf with a ring about it, which grows year by year.
Eventually these rings become so large and thin that they are no longer illuminated by the
hot central white dwarf.

Messier Objects
Charles Messier, a dedicated comet hunter, often came across fuzzy objects that caused
confusion. He started to compile a list of these objects which eventually became known as

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the Messier Catalogue. Ironically, Charles Messier is now more famous for his list of
galaxies, nebulae and clusters than for his comet discoveries.
Identification
Popular Name Constellation Description
Number(s)
M1 NGC1952 Crab Nebula Taurus supernova remnant
M2 NGC7089 Aquarius globular cluster
M3 NGC5272 Canes Venatici globular cluster
M4 NGC6121 Scorpius globular cluster
M5 NGC5904 Serpens globular cluster
M6 NGC6405 Butterfly Cluster Scorpius open cluster
M7 NGC6475 Ptolemy's Cluster Scorpius open cluster
M8 NGC6523 Lagoon Nebula Sagittarius diffuse nebula
M9 NGC6333 Ophiuchus globular cluster
M10 NGC6254 Ophiuchus globular cluster
M11 NGC6705 Wild Duck Cluster Scutum open cluster
M12 NGC6218 Ophiuchus globular cluster
M13 NGC6205 Great Globular Cluster Hercules globular cluster
M14 NGC6402 Ophiuchus globular cluster
M15 NGC7078 Pegasus globular cluster
M16 NGC6611 Eagle Nebula Serpens diffuse nebula and open
cluster
M17 NGC6618 Horseshoe Nebula, Sagittarius diffuse nebula
Mega
Nebula, Swan Nebula
M18 NGC6613 Sagittarius open cluster
M19 NGC6273 Ophiuchus globular cluster
M20 NGC6514 Triffid Nebula Sagittarius diffuse nebula
M21 NGC6531 Sagittarius open cluster
M22 NGC6656 Sagittarius globular cluster
M23 NGC6494 Sagittarius open cluster
M24 NGC6603 part of the Milky Way Sagittarius star cloud
M25 IC4725 Sagittarius open cluster
M26 NGC6694 Scutum open cluster
M27 NGC6853 Dumbbell Nebula Vulpecula planetary nebula
M28 NGC6626 Sagittarius globular cluster
M29 NGC6913 Cygnus open cluster
M30 NGC7099 Capricornus globular cluster
M31 NGC224 Andromeda Galaxy Andromeda spiral galaxy
M32 NGC221 Andromeda elliptical galaxy
M33 NGC598 Triangulum Galaxy Triangulum spiral galaxy
M34 NGC1039 Perseus open cluster
M35 NGC2168 Gemini open cluster
M36 NGC1960 Auriga open cluster
M37 NGC2099 Auriga open cluster
M38 NGC1912 Auriga open cluster
M39 NGC7092 Cygnus open cluster
M40 WNC4 Winnecke 4 Ursa Major binary star
M41 NGC2287 Canis Major open cluster
M42 NGC1976 Great Orion Nebula Orion diffuse nebula
M43 NGC1982 part of the Orion Nebula Orion diffuse nebula
M44 NGC2632 Beehive Cluster Cancer open cluster
Praesepe
M45 Pleiades Taurus open cluster
M46 NGC2437 Puppis open cluster
M47 NGC2422 Puppis open cluster
M48 NGC2548 Hydra open cluster
M49 NGC4472 Virgo elliptical galaxy
M50 NGC2323 Monoceros open cluster
M51 NGC5194 Whirlpool Galaxy Canes Venatici spiral galaxy
M52 NGC7654 Cassiopeia open cluster
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 Identification
Popular Name Constellation Description
Number(s)
M53 NGC5024 Coma Berenices globular cluster
M54 NGC6715 Sagittarius globular cluster
M55 NGC6809 Sagittarius globular cluster
M56 NGC6779 Lyra globular cluster
M57 NGC6720 Ring Nebula Lyra planetary nebula
M58 NGC4579 Virgo barred spiral galaxy
M59 NGC4621 Virgo elliptical galaxy
M60 NGC4649 Virgo elliptical galaxy
M61 NGC4303 Virgo spiral galaxy
M62 NGC6266 Ophiuchus globular cluster
M63 NGC5055 Canes Venatici spiral galaxy
M64 NGC4826 Blackeye Galaxy Coma Berenices spiral galaxy
M65 NGC3623 Leo spiral galaxy
M66 NGC3627 Leo spiral galaxy
M67 NGC2682 Cancer open cluster
M68 NGC4590 Hydra globular cluster
M69 NGC6637 Sagittarius globular cluster
M70 NGC6681 Sagittarius globular cluster
M71 NGC6838 Sagitta globular cluster
M72 NGC6981 Aquarius globular cluster
M73 NGC6994 Aquarius asterism of four stars
M74 NGC628 Pisces spiral galaxy
M75 NGC6864 Sagittarius globular cluster
M76 NGC651 Butterfly Nebula Perseus planetary nebula
Little Dumbbell Nebula
M77 NGC1068 Cetus spiral galaxy
M78 NGC2068 Orion diffuse nebula
M79 NGC1904 Lepus globular cluster
M80 NGC6093 Scorpius globular cluster
M81 NGC3031 Bode's Galaxy Ursa Major spiral galaxy
M82 NGC3034 Cigar Galaxy Ursa Major irregular galaxy
M83 NGC5236 Hydra spiral galaxy
M84 NGC4374 Virgo lentucular galaxy
M85 NGC4382 Coma Berenices lenticular galaxy
M86 NGC4406 Virgo lenticular galaxy
M87 NGC4486 Virgo A Virgo elliptical galaxy
M88 NGC4501 Coma Berenices spiral galaxy
M89 NGC4552 Virgo elliptical galaxy
M90 NGC4569 Virgo spiral galaxy
M91 NGC4548 Coma Berenices barred spiral galaxy
M92 NGC6341 Hercules globular cluster
M93 NGC2447 Puppis open cluster
M94 NGC4736 Canes Venatici spiral galaxy
M95 NGC3351 Leo barred spiral galaxy
M96 NGC3368 Leo spiral galaxy
M97 NGC3587 Owl Nebula Ursa Major planetary nebula
M98 NGC4192 Coma Berenices spiral galaxy
M99 NGC4254 Coma Berenices spiral galaxy
M100 NGC4321 Coma Berenices spiral galaxy
M101 NGC5457 Pinwheel Galaxy Ursa Major spiral galaxy
M102 There is some controversy as to the identity of this object. Some think
that Messier made a mistake and re-identified M101 as M102. Others
believe that this object is actually the lenticular galaxy NGC5866 in the
constellation Draco.
M103 NGC581 Cassiopeia open cluster
M104 NGC4594 Sombrero Galaxy Virgo spiral galaxy
M105 NGC3379 Leo elliptical galaxy
M106 NGC4258 Canes Venatici spiral galaxy
M107 NGC6171 Ophiuchus globular cluster
Aryabhat Astronomy Quiz Study Material Volume 2 Page 12
 Identification
Popular Name Constellation Description
Number(s)
M108 NGC3556 Ursa Major spiral galaxy
M109 NGC3992 Ursa Major barred spiral galaxy
M110 NGC205 Andromeda elliptical galaxy

Quasars
Quasars are extremely bright objects, which can be seen across the universe. The only
known source of such power would be a huge black hole swallowing the gas from stars
unfortunate enough to get too near the black hole. The light is not emitted by the black hole
itself, but a disk of material spiraling into the black hole. Quasars normally have long jets of
material shooting out at nearly the speed of light. These jets can be luminous for years.
Active galactic nuclei are suspected of containing black holes in their centers. In fact some
theories say that all galaxies arose around a central black hole formed at the big bang [a
pure guess so far]. Those, which are so suspected, have something very energetic at the
core.

Aryabhat Astronomy Quiz Study Material Volume 2 Page 13