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North Star

(Encyclopedia)North Star: see Polaris.

variable star

(Encyclopedia)variable star, star that varies, either periodically or irregularly, in the intensity of the light it emits. Other physical changes are usually correlated with the fluctuations in brightness, such as ...

star anise

(Encyclopedia)star anise: see under anise.

Star Chamber

(Encyclopedia)Star Chamber, ancient meeting place of the king of England's councilors in the palace of Westminster in London, so called because of stars painted on the ceiling. The court of the Star Chamber develop...

star cluster

(Encyclopedia)star cluster, a group of stars near each other in space and resembling each other in certain characteristics that suggest a common origin for the group. Stars in the same cluster move at the same rate...

Star Wars

(Encyclopedia)Star Wars: see Strategic Defense Initiative. ...

supergiant star

(Encyclopedia)supergiant star: see red giant.

blazing star

(Encyclopedia)blazing star or button snakeroot, any plant of the genus Liatris, showy North American perennials of the family Asteraceae (aster family). The blossoms, rosy purple or white, are in somewhat feathery ...

stellar evolution

(Encyclopedia)CE5 The above Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram shows the track of stellar evolution for a typical star. After spending much of its life evolving toward or along the main sequence, the star becomes...

Hulse, Russell Alan

(Encyclopedia)Hulse, Russell Alan, 1950–, American astrophysicist, b., New York City, Ph.D. Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1975. Hulse was a researcher at the Princeton's plasma physics laboratory from 1977 unt...