2007-02-09 05:42:50 · 9 answers · asked by cocada_us 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It depends on how you count. Pollux, for example, is visible to the unaided eye, but even in a small telescope you can see that it's actually four stars. An in a large telescope, there are two very dim companions for a total of six. So do you count Pollux as one, four, or six?
It also depend on the individual doing the observation and the conditions under which he or she is observing. The classic magnitude limit for the unaided eye is 6, but under ideal conditions (mountaintop, no moon, no wind) there are some extraordinary reports of objects as faint as 7 being detectable.
But if we use the standard definition, the Yale Bright Star Catalog lists 5,080 stars of magnitude 6.0 or brighter.
2007-02-09 06:27:43 · answer #1 · answered by Keith P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On a clear night, far out at sea on a dark boat, and with good eyes, ... I would say a person could distinguish about 2000 or so. But you can't see even 1/2 of the celestial sphere one any one night -- milky way gets in the way, and the stars there just seem to merge into a fog.
Over the course of a year, less than 4000 stars can be seen as separate stars by the unaided eyes.
2007-02-09 06:29:46 · answer #2 · answered by morningfoxnorth 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on where you are. If you live in a populated area (which most of us do) then you won't see very many at all, maybe in the hundreds. However, move to an empty place on a clear night and the sky is sprinkled with thousands of lights.
2007-02-09 05:57:52 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
About 6,000. But only half of them are above the horizon at any one time. It also depends on how clear and dark the sky is and how good your eyesight is. Most people can see stars as dim as 6th magnitude, and there are about 6,000 of stars as bright or brighter than that, but there are a LOT more 7th magnitude stars than there are 6th magnitude, so how dim a star you can see has a very large impact on how many you can see.
2007-02-09 05:47:54 · answer #4 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
That depends on many factors.
Your location on earth. For exaple, if you're in a large city, the light pollution blocks out many of the less bright stars.
If you have very good night vision. You can probably see billions of stars on a clear night, in a remote location fo the earth.
2007-02-09 05:47:38 · answer #5 · answered by Michael Dino C 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
None (but if I have to use my unaided eye, that means no glasses, and I can't see without them)
2007-02-09 05:50:39 · answer #6 · answered by Lepke 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's a trick question because many of the dots of light you see at night are not stars but are galaxies. Some of these gallaxies contain 800,000,000 stars each.
The correct answer is... lots.
2007-02-09 05:52:15 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
About 5,000 on a clear night with good vision (looking every night for one year)....which is .0001 percent of the stars just in our galaxy.
2007-02-09 05:48:32 · answer #8 · answered by Eleventy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All of them that you can see.
2007-02-09 05:49:25 · answer #9 · answered by orion_1812@yahoo.com 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋