The 10 most interesting stars in the universe

The 10 most interesting stars in the universe

  The biggest stars in Hollywood are measured by their box office appeal, the roles they win in movies, or the millions of votes cast by the public on "American Idol." But in astronomy, how do you know which are the hottest stars in the universe? What makes a star so special that it deserves our admiration and appreciation?

  Some stars capture our imagination because they are prime candidates for planets teeming with life. Others may help us understand the origins of our solar system, while others stand out simply because they have strange planets.

  Here are their top 10 picks for the most interesting stars in the universe.

  10. Mr. Spock's neighborhood: 40 Eridani A

  This is the star identified in the Star Trek story as the location of Vulcan, Mr. Spock's homeworld. So far, no K dwarf planets have been found around this star, which is smaller and cooler than our Sun. But studies by Dr. Angel Tanner, a scientist with the planned SIM PlanetQuest mission, show that no habitable planet could form around this star. The mission will have the opportunity to find Vulcan, if it is there, as part of the search for habitable planets around it.

  9. Lab for Origins: HD 69830

   It contains a trio of Neptune-sized planets, including planets in the habitable zone, and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed a dusty asteroid belt surrounding the star, giving astronomers a rare window into the formation process of rocky planets. "This is the first laboratory to observe interactions between asteroid belts, dust and a planetary system," said Dr. Charles Beichman, lead author of the paper on Spitzer's discovery.  

  8. Very similar to the house: 55 Cancri

  Of all the planetary systems discovered there so far, 55 Cancri has the warmest, fuzzy feeling. It's a place that feels very much like home. This system is home to at least four planets, including one of the smallest ever discovered and a Jupiter-sized gas giant that is in the same position as Jupiter in relation to our sun. Most intriguing is the potential for 55 Cancri to host smaller, terrestrial planets—ones undetectable by current instruments—in its habitable zone.

  7. Far, Far Light: HD 209458 & HD 189733

  These two stars represent an astronomical milestone. Data from two gaseous planets orbiting very close to their Sun show that their atmospheres are drier and cloudier than predicted, with no sign of water.

  6. Hot spot for life?: Epsilon Indi A

  Astronomer Margaret Turnbull of the Carnegie Institution of Washington has compiled a list of more than 17,000 potential "habitable star systems" -- candidate stars where some form of life could develop. He named Epsilon Indi A, about 11.8 light-years away, as a prime candidate for further investigation by NASA's planned Planet Finder mission.

  5. First Exoplanet: 51 Pegasi

  In 1995, Swiss astronomers announced the discovery of the first planet outside the solar system orbiting the star 51 Pegasi, 48 light-years from Earth, and the field of exoplanet research was born. Although the planet is unsuitable for life, the star could also host smaller, terrestrial planets that have yet to be discovered. We will have to wait for future deployments of more sensitive, space-based instruments to find out if there are any smaller, Earth-like planets.

4. All inflated: HAT-P-1

  About 1.38 times the radius of Jupiter, this marshmallow-like sphere is only a quarter the density of water. Like Saturn, HAT-P-1 b could float in a bathtub if you could get a tub big enough to hold it, but it floated almost three times as high. For now, the cause of the puffy state remains a mystery - something astronomers hope to unravel through further observations.

  3. Starlight, Starlight: Pollux

  Recently, scientists discovered that it has a secret: a hidden planet about three times the size of Jupiter. Next time you wish on a star, why not make it Pollux?

  2. Day and Night World: Upsilon Andromedae

  Upsilon Andromedae b is a stunningly exotic world: a gas giant planet orbiting very close to its sun, always hot as fire on one side and potentially as cold as ice on the other. This was the first time any change had been observed on the surface of an extrasolar planet.

  1. A Living World?: Gliese 581

  In April 2007, European astronomers made a historic announcement: they discovered the first potentially habitable planet orbiting a star other than the Sun. Even so, the planet is small enough to be a solid rather than a gas, and researchers say it orbits in the sweet spot where liquid water could exist.