1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910784977003321

Autore

Brosch Noah

Titolo

Sirius matters [[electronic resource] /] / Noah Brosch

Pubbl/distr/stampa

[Dordrecht ; ; New York], : Springer, c2008

ISBN

1-281-37814-3

9786611378141

1-4020-8319-X

Edizione

[1st ed. 2008.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (230 p.)

Collana

Astrophysics and space science library ; ; 354

Disciplina

523.841

Soggetti

Stars

Sirius

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Historical perspective -- Mysteries of the Sirius system -- Approaching modern times -- Modern optical measurements -- Modern non-optical observations -- The neighborhood of Sirius -- The perspective of stellar structure -- The perspective of stellar evolution -- Sirius revealed – a synthesis of the information.

Sommario/riassunto

Since very early times Sirius was a point of attraction in the night sky. It served to synchronize calendars in antiquity and was the subject of many myths and legends, including some modern ones. It was perceived as a red star for more than 400 years, but such reports were relegated to the Mediterranean region. Astronomically, Sirius is a very bright star. This, and its present close distance to us, argues in favor of it being the target of detailed studies of stellar structure and evolution. Its binary nature, with a companion that is one of the more massive white dwarfs, is an additional reason for such studies. This book collects the published information on Sirius in an attempt to derive a coherent picture of how this system came to look as it does.