Alpha Persei (Mirfak)
|
Alpha Persei (Mirfak) |
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
|
Deep Sky Object Chart | Alpha Persei (Mirfak) | Beta Persei (Algol) | More Perseus Stars | M34 | M76 | Double Cluster | NGC 1245 | NGC 1275 | NGC 1499 Alpha Persei (Mirfak) is both the brightest star in the constellation and the centerpiece of a rich gathering of stars referred to as the "Perseus I Association". The name Mirfak, while exotic sounding to English speaking ears, means "the elbow", a simple description of its place in the constellation pattern. Mirfak is a giant star, putting out 4000 times as much light as our sun. The color is nearly pure white, and the apparent magnitude 1.79 - Mirfak is thus the 33rd brightest of our night time stars. About 570 light years away, in a rich stellar group containing more than 100 bright members, including third magnitude Delta Persei, some 3.5 degrees to the east, and even more distant Epsilon Persei, 13 degrees away! In our sky, the central core of this pretty star-patch is about six degrees or 12 full moons across, and makes a wonderful place to explore with minimal or even no optical aid.
|
