The fixed stars (from the Latin stellae fixae) are celestial objects that do not seem to move in relation to the other stars of the night sky. Hence, a fixed star is any star except for the Sun. A nebula or other starlike object may also be called a fixed star. People in many cultures have imagined that the stars form pictures in the sky called constellations. In ancient Greek astronomy, the stars were believed to exist on a giant celestial sphere, or firmament, that revolved around the Earth daily.
Read more about Fixed Stars: Origination of Name, The Fixed Stars Are not Fixed, The Fixed Stars in Classical Mechanics
Famous quotes containing the words fixed and/or stars:
“A fixed image of the future is in the worst sense ahistorical.”
—Juliet Mitchell (b. 1940)
“I teach at Harvard that the world and the heavens, and the stars are all real, but not so damned real, you see.”
—Josiah Royce (1855–1916)