MSGID: 1:153/757.0 c191357b   
   TZUTC: -0800   
   CHARSET: LATIN-1   
                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                 2022 February 24   
      
                               Beautiful Albireo AB   
                       Image Credit & Copyright: Robert Eder   
      
      Explanation: Beta Cygni is a single bright star to the naked eye. About   
      420 light-years away it marks the foot of the Northern Cross, famous   
      asterism in the constellation Cygnus. But a view through the eyepiece   
      of a small telescope will transform it into a beautiful double star, a   
      treasure of the night sky in blue and gold. Beta Cygni is also known as   
      Albireo, designated Albireo AB to indicate its two bright component   
      stars. Their visually striking color difference is illustrated in this   
      telescopic snapshot, along with their associated visible spectrum of   
      starlight shown in insets to the right. Albireo A, top inset, shows the   
      spectrum of a K-type giant star, cooler than the Sun and emitting most   
      of its energy at yellow and red wavelengths. Below, Albireo B has the   
      spectrum of a main sequence star much hotter than the Sun, emitting   
      more energy in blue and violet. Albireo A is known to be a binary star,   
      two stars together orbiting a common center of mass, though the two   
      stars are too close together to be seen separately with a small   
      telescope. Well-separated Albireo A and B most likely represent an   
      optical double star and not a physical binary system because the two   
      components have clearly different measured motions through space.   
      
                        Tomorrow's picture: mars with moxie   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
                   NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices   
                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-5   
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)   
   SEEN-BY: 1/123 15/0 90/1 92/1 103/705 105/81 106/201 120/340 123/131   
   SEEN-BY: 129/305 330 331 134/100 153/105 135 757 6809 7715 218/700   
   SEEN-BY: 218/840 221/1 6 226/30 227/114 229/110 206 317 400 424 426   
   SEEN-BY: 229/428 664 700 240/1120 5832 266/512 282/1038 301/1 113   
   SEEN-BY: 301/812 317/3 320/219 322/757 335/364 341/66 342/200 396/45   
   SEEN-BY: 460/58 633/280 712/848 4500/1 5020/1042 5058/104   
   PATH: 153/757 221/6 301/1 229/426