Great Balls of Fire - Sparkling In Our Galaxy

March 8, 2011 - PRLog -- In order to help astronomers locate all of our stars, the sky is divided into 88 different areas which are known as constellations. Each constellation is associated with a pattern of brighter stars within it, and consists of a defined area of sky surrounding that particular pattern. Whilst some constellations vary their appearances at alternative times of the year, all of them have a particular name, often mythological in origin.

Stars are of course purely hot balls of gases which can burn for millions of years at a time. These collections of gases are formed in stellar nurseries when both gases and dust particles are hauled together by gravity. The reason we can visibly see stars despite the fact they are millions of miles away, is due to the fact that they generate heat at temperatures of more than a thousand degrees.

Although stars all look exactly the same, they actually have very different characteristics. The colour, otherwise known as the spectral type, can range from yellow to red to white to blue and incredibly actually gives us an indication of the star’s age. The most obvious example is our sun, which is of course yellow indicating that its half way through its life cycle – despite being 93 million miles away.

Due to the way the stars are collated together, you can now select a star from within a constellation which is visible over a relevant hemisphere. However, you are more than welcome to choose a constellation yourself; particularly if there is one that especially suits the person you are naming the star for. For example, if someone especially loves horses or cats, they might like a star named after them in the ‘Lynx’ (The Cat) constellation, or ‘Pegasus’ (The Winged Horse).

Approximately 350 of the brightest stars (http://www.redletterdays.co.uk/Experience/Ref/SLISS/Namin...) have already been given names by ancient civilisations which were here long before us. Most of us will already be familiar with Polaris, Sirius, Vega and Betelgeuse, all of which were named by the Greeks, Arabs and Romans. Bizarrely, during the 1950’s the astronomical community adopted a policy which prevented naming continually stars, the main reason being that naming every single star would be a task of gargantuan proportions. However, other celestial features such as asteroids, comets still continue to be named today. This is usually after their discovery but on occasion can be as a tribute to a well-known individual.

Naming a star for somebody special to you is a truly unique and original gift (http://www.redletterdays.co.uk/Experience/Other-Gifts), which of course will continue to shine eternally. The available gift set (http://www.redletterdays.co.uk/Experience/Other-Gifts/Gif...) incorporates a combined certificate of registration and an A3 star chart scroll indicating the location of your chosen star alongside its unique astronomical coordinates. Your star can also be checked on the online register and as proof of your gift you will receive your scroll in an ornate presentation gift box.

Have a beautiful star named for somebody you love and their name will remain forever surrounded by other ‘stars’, just like Robert DeNiro, Madonna and Diana Princess of Wales.

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