The Stars
To the naked eye, the night sky is dominated by the stars.
From a dark site, several hundred to a thousand stars are visible to the
naked eye depending on the location and time of year. The stars differ
in apparent brightness (measured in magnitudes)
and also in color. Look closely at the brighter stars, and you will see
that many are colored. The color of stars is an indication of their surface
temperature (red=coolest, blue=hottest), and while a complete discussion
is beyond the reach of this publication for visual astronomers, extensive
descriptions can be found in most introductory astronomy texts. With a
telescope, thousands of fainter stars are revealed, but even the brightest
ones remain points of light. Stars become interesting telescopically only
when they occur in groups or are associated with nebulosity. The simplest
star groupings are double and multiple stars.
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