Star of the Day                      December 25 th :  The Sun          A special day and a special star to celebrate. Merry Christmas!          You can find out about the Sun at:   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *                 Previous Stars                    December 24 th :  Al Dafirah                    Locate and number the star Al Dafirah in the constellation Coma Berenices as 24 on the star map.          The stencil above shows the size of Al Dafirah relative to the Sun. You can find out about this star at:             https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_Comae_Berenices                       December 23 rd :  Diadem                  Locate and number the star Diadem as 23 on the star map.          Diadem is actually a binary system comprising of two stars of approximately the same mass.          The stencil above shows the size of Diadem relative to the Sun. You can find out about this star at:              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Comae_Berenices                       December 22 nd :  Heze          Locate and number the star Heze as 22 on the star map.          Using a telescope Heze still appears as a single star but in 2010, using a technique known as          Speckle Suppression, it was found that Heze has a companion star which is probably a red dwarf.          The stencil above shows the size of Heze relative to the Sun. You can find out about this star at:                       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeta_Virginis                    December 21 st :  Rijl al Awwa                 Locate and number the star Rijl al Awwa as 21 on the star map.          The stencil above shows the size of Rijl al Awwa relative to the Sun. You can find out about this star at:                       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_Virginis                          December 20 th : Syrma               Locate and number the star Syrma as 20 on the star map.         Although not specified as such by Stellarium there is evidence to suggest that Syrma is a binary star.         The companion star is very elusive and its properties not well publicized.                    The stencil above shows the size of Syrma relative to the Sun. You can find out about this star at:                       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iota_Virginis                          December 19 th : Kang                Locate and number the star Kang as 19 on the star map.         The stencil above shows the size of Kang relative to the Sun. You can find out about this star at:                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_Virginis                          December 18 th : Spica                To the naked eye Spica appears to be a single star. However, in reality it is a binary star system.               The two components are a blue giant along with a blue main sequence star.               The two stars are distorted by gravity. Various sources describe the stars as being ellipsoidal or               egg-shaped. But egg-shaped is not ellipsoidal so the nature and extent of the distortion needs               further study.          Label the star system Spica as 18 on the star map. You can find out about this star system at:                             https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spica                   December 17 th : Vindemiatrix                  Locate and number the star Vindemiatrix as 17 on the star map.         The stencil above shows the size of Vindemiatrix relative to the Sun. You can find out about this star at:                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsilon_Virginis                      December 16 th : Minelauva           The star Minelauva, also known as Auva, is a red giant. According to the reference source in Wikipedia         the radius of this star is 48 times larger than that of the Sun. However, this figure varies considerably         across different websites. For example, www.universeguide.com quotes the radius as only 26.79 times         the radius of the Sun.         If the radius of Minelauva is 48 times that of the Sun this would mean that Minelauva is larger than         Aldebaran.         Locate and number the star Minelauva as 16 on the star map.         The stencil above shows the size of Minelauva relative to the Sun. You can find out about Minelauva at:                         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Virginis                          December 15 th : Porrima                         To the naked eye Porrima appears to be a single star. However, in reality it is a binary star system                              which consists of two almost identical stars.     The radius of each of these binary stars is considered to be around 2.15 times that of the Sun.                Locate and number the star system Porrima as 15 on the star map.               The stencil above shows the stars of Porrima relative to the Sun. You can find out about Porrima at:                   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_Virginis                        December 14 th : Zaniah      To the naked eye Zaniah appears to be a single star. However, in reality it is a triple star system. The two main components are Eta Vir Aa (which is labelled as Zaniah) and Eta Vir Ab. These two stars orbit each other at a distance of around 0.6 astronomical units with a third star orbiting this pair at a            distance of around 10 astronomical units.            The radius of Eta Vir Aa (Zaniah) is thought to be around 4.6 times that of the Sun but information regarding the radii of the other two stars in the triple system is not easy to find!            Label the star system Zaniah as 14 on the star map. You can find out about this star system at:                        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Virginis                       December 13 th : Zavijava                        It is now time to examine some of the main stars in the constellation Virgo.                Stellarium shows the star v Vir (3 Vir) at the end of the “Virgo Bowl” whereas other sources show the                 brighter star Zavijava instead.              Locate and number the star Zavijava as 13 on the star map.              The stencil above shows the size of Zavijava relative to the Sun. You can find out about this star at:                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Virginis                     December 12 th : Denebola                                             Locate and number the star Denebola as 12 on the star map.   The stencil above shows the size of Denebola relative to the Sun. You can find out about this star at:                         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denebola       December 11 th : Zosma                Locate and number the star Zosma as 11 on the star map.        The stencil above shows the size of Zosma relative to the Sun. You can find out about this star at:                         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Leonis