The brightest star visible from earth. The most beautiful night sky objects to see

Imagining the starry sky, probably everyone has in their head the thought of thousands of stars of the same type, shining on the boundless dark canvas of our planet. Not at all, in industrial cities, due to pollution, it is difficult to see that the flickering luminaries seriously differ not only in size, distance from the Earth, but also in power. If you want to see this difference, we recommend watching the amazing spectacle in nature, in an open area far from the city. We'll tell you where you need to look to see them, and finally answer the question - " Which star is the brightest in the sky?".

10 brightest stars in the sky

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Each star has its own history, life cycle and stages of formation. They differ in color and strength. For example, some of them are capable of igniting a nuclear fusion reaction. Amazing, isn't it? And one of the most powerful, unusual and brightest is the star Achernar, located 139 light years from our world. We are talking about a blue star whose brightness is 3000 times greater than the sun. Features fast rotation and high temperature. Due to the speed of movement, its equatorial radius is approximately 56% larger than the polar one.

A red star called Betelgeuse shines even brighter and more powerfully. It is the hottest in its class. Experts suggest that this will not last long, because sooner or later the hydrogen will run out and Betelgeuse will switch to helium. It is worth noting that the temperature is not too high, only 3500K, but it shines about 100,000 times brighter than the Sun. It is located approximately 600 light years from Earth. Over the next million years, the star is expected to go supernova, and will likely become its brightest. Perhaps our descendants will be able to see it even during the day.

The next brightest star is the F-class celestial body called Procyon. A rather modest star in its parameters, which today is on the verge of exhausting its hydrogen reserves. In terms of its dimensions, it is only 40% larger than the Sun, however, in terms of evolution, the subgiant shines 7 times more intensely and brightly. Why did Procyon receive such a high place in the ranking, since there are more powerful luminaries? The fact is that it is brighter than the Sun, taking into account 11.5 light years from us. This must be taken into account; if it were closer, we would have to pay more attention to creating lenses in sunglasses.

One of the brightest stars on the planet, the power of which can only be fully appreciated from Orion. An even more distant star, located 860 years from the planet. In this case, the core temperature is 12,000 degrees. It must be said that Rigel is not one of the main sequence stars. However, the blue giant is 120 thousand times brighter than the sun. To give you an idea, if a star were as distant from our planet as Mercury, we would not be able to see anything. However, even in the territory of Orion it blinds.

Speaking of unusual stars, Capella is the undisputed leader. What is so unique about the heavenly body? The fact is that this star consists of two surfaces at once, the temperature of each of which is greater than the sun. At the same time, supergiants are 78 times brighter. They are located 42 light years away. The combination of two stars is quite easy to detect on a clear day, or rather night. However, only knowledgeable people will be able to understand what this miracle in the sky looks like. You probably already understand what names are used to describe many terms in the Russian language, and not only that.

For many people, Vega is associated with an Internet provider, and for film fans, it is the home of aliens (the film “Contact”). In fact, Vega is a bright star located 25 light years from Earth. Its age is 500 million years. Today, astronomers use it as a zero star, that is, zero magnitude. Among all Class A luminaries, it is considered the most powerful. At the same time, it is about 40 times brighter than the sun. In our sky it is the fifth brightest, and in the northern part of the hemisphere it is second in this parameter to only one unique luminary, which will be discussed further.

The only orange star in this rating, on the evolutionary scale located between Capella and Procyon. The brightest star in the northern hemisphere of the planet. If you want to have an idea of ​​its placement, focus on the handle of the Big Dipper bucket. It is always within a given constellation. About 170 times brighter than the sun. As part of its further development, it should become much stronger. It is located approximately 37 light years away.

We are talking about a triple system, each member of which is similar in its parameters to the sun. It's funny, but all the members of the Alpha Centauri system are much dimmer, any of the stars presented in the ranking are the brightest. However, the system is close enough to Earth that its illumination is noticeable even in the city. The distance is 4.4 light years. Well, it's time to talk about the most unique celestial bodies of this top. Surely, many are now aware of the choice of astrologers, who spend their time studying truly intangible objects for years on end.

If you go outside on a clear night, you will see thousands of stars. But this is only a small part of them, the one that is accessible to imperfect human vision. But even among them one can easily identify more or less bright ones, and they have attracted people’s views from the earliest times. And today we will try to find out the name of the brightest star.

Agree, the question is interesting, but quite complex. First of all, you need to figure out what is meant by this: relative brightness or absolute. Therefore, today the article will be divided into two parts. In the first, we will talk about the brightest stars that we see from the earth. Secondly, about those who really shine the brightest.

Sun

The brightest star in the sky is, of course, our Sun. Relative to cosmic scales, it is very tiny and rather dim. Most of the existing stars are, firstly, larger, and secondly, brighter. But to support life on our planet, its “power” is ideal: not too much and not too bright.

However, its mass is more than 99.866% of the total mass of all solar system objects. The Sun is located hundreds and thousands of times closer than all other stars, but even from it light, the fastest thing in the Universe, travels for about 8 minutes.

There are many similar facts that can be cited, but the main one is: if the Sun did not exist or it would be somewhat different, there would be no life on our planet either. Or it would have taken on completely different forms. I wonder which ones.

This star is considered the brightest not only in the northern hemisphere, but also in the southern. It can be seen from almost all points on the planet, with the exception of very northern latitudes.

People have known and revered her since ancient times. So the Greeks counted from her appearance the beginning of the summer holidays, which fell on the hottest time of the year. Until now, their very name reminds of this star: vacations are “dog days,” because another name for this star is “canis, little dog,” in honor of the dog of the heavenly hunter, whose name was Sirius.

Practice at your leisure

The Egyptians used it to determine the moment of the Nile flood, which meant the beginning of the sowing season. The star was even more important for sailors, allowing them to navigate the sea. And now it’s quite easy to find it against the background of the night sky if you connect the three stars of Orion’s belt with an imaginary line. One end of the line will rest on Aldebaran, the other – on Sirius. The one that is brighter is Sirius.

In fact, Sirius is a double star, consisting of a relatively large and bright Sirius A and a white dwarf Sirius B. Thus, like many of the brightest stars, it is a system. By the way, it is part of the constellation Canis Major, introducing another fragment into the overall picture of the “canine theme” associated with this star.

By the way, Sirius is located quite close to Earth, only 8 light years away. Therefore, despite the fact that this star is relatively small, only 22 times larger than the Sun, it remains the brightest in our sky.

Canopus

This star is not as popular as Sirius, but nevertheless it is the second brightest in our starry sky. It’s just that from the territory of Russia it is practically invisible, as well as from most of the northern hemisphere.

But for the south, she is a real guiding star. It was this that was most often used as a landmark by sailors. And even for Soviet astrocorrection systems it was the main one, and Sirius was the backup one.

But it appears very often in science fiction literature. For example, the famous Dune from the series of novels by Frank Herbert is called the third planet of the Canopus system.

R136a1

Beneath these incomprehensible numbers lies the brightest and largest star in the known Universe. Even according to rough estimates, it is 9 million times brighter than our Sun, 10 million times larger, but only 300 times heavier.

feel the difference

R126a1 originated in a compact cluster of stars in the Tarantula Nebula. It is not visible to the naked eye, but this is only because it is really far from us: 165 thousand light years away. But even an ordinary amateur telescope is enough to detect this giant.

Due to its size and colossal temperature, it belongs to a rare class of blue supergiants. There are not so many of them in the Universe, so each of them is of great interest to scientists. The most curious question is: what will this star become after death: a black hole, a neutron star or a supernova. We are unlikely to see this, but no one is stopping scientists from creating models and making predictions.

We have previously mentioned this constellation in connection with the largest star visible from Earth. But it also contains another unique star: VY Canis Majoris, or as scientists call it, VY CMa. It is considered one of the brightest and largest.

See that tiny dot? This is the Sun

It is so huge that if you place it at the center of our solar system, its edge will block the orbit of Jupiter, just shy of the orbit of Saturn. If its circumference along the equator is drawn out into a line, then light will take 8.5 hours to travel this distance. Its diameter is approximately 2000 times the diameter of our Sun.

At the same time, the density of this star is negligible - about 0.01 grams per cubic meter. For comparison, the density of air is about 1.3 grams per cubic meter. A cube with a kilometer edge would weigh about 10 tons. And yet, this star remains very, very bright.

Now you know what the brightest star is and you can look at the night sky differently. There really is something to see in it.

Note:

1. (Alpha Canis Majoris; αCMa, Sirius). The brightest star in the constellation Canis Major and the brightest star in the sky. It is a visual binary star with an orbital period of 50 years, the main component (A) being an A star and the second component (B, Pup) an 8th magnitude white dwarf. Sirius B was first discovered optically in 1862, and its type was determined from its spectrum in 1925. Sirius is 8.7 light years away from us and ranks seventh in terms of proximity to the Solar System. The name is inherited from the ancient Greeks and means “scorching,” which emphasizes the brilliance of the star. In connection with the name of the constellation to which Sirius belongs, it is also called the “Dog Star”. The third star, a brown dwarf, closer to (A) than component (B), was discovered by French astronomers in 1995.
2. (Alpha Bootes, αBoo, Arcturus). The brightest star in the constellation Bootes, an orange giant K-star, is the fourth brightest star in the sky. Double, variable. The name is of Greek origin and means “bear keeper.” Arcturus was the first star to be seen during the day using a telescope by the French astronomer and astrologer Morin in 1635.
3. (Alpha Lyrae; α Lyr, Vega). The brightest star in the constellation Lyra and the fifth brightest star in the sky. This is an A-star. In 2005, the Spitzer Space Telescope captured infrared images of Vega and the dust surrounding the star. A planetary system is formed around a star.
4. (Alpha Aurigae; α Aur, Chapel). The brightest star in the constellation Auriga, a spectroscopic double star in which the main component is a giant G-star. Her name is of Latin origin and means “little goat.”
5. (Beta Orionis; β Ori, Rigel). The brightest star in the constellation Orion. It is designated by the Greek letter Beta, although it is slightly brighter than Betelgeuse, which is designated Alpha Orionis. Rigel is a supergiant B star with a 7th magnitude companion. The name, which is of Arabic origin, means "giant's foot."
6. (Alpha Canis Minor; αCMi, Procyon). The brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor. Procyon ranks fifth in brightness among all stars. In 1896, J. M. Scheberl discovered that Procyon is a binary system. The main companion is a normal F star, and the faint companion is an 11th magnitude white dwarf. The system's circulation period is 41 years. The name Procyon is of Greek origin and means "before the dog" (a reminder that the star rises before the "Dog Star", i.e. Sirius).
7. (Alpha Eagle; α Aql, Altair). The brightest star in the constellation Aquila. The Arabic word "altair" means "flying eagle". Altair - A-star. It is one of the closest among the brightest stars (located at a distance of 17 light years).
8. (Alpha Orionis; α Ori, Betelgeuse). A red supergiant M star, one of the largest known stars. Using point interferometry and other interference methods, it was possible to measure its diameter, which turned out to be approximately 1000 times the diameter of the Sun. The presence of large bright “starspots” was also discovered. Observations in the ultraviolet using the Hubble Space Telescope have shown that Betelgeuse is surrounded by a vast chromosphere with a mass of approximately twenty solar masses. Variable. The brightness varies irregularly between magnitudes 0.4 and 0.9 with a period of about five years. It is noteworthy that during the observation period from 1993 to 2009, the diameter of the star decreased by 15%, from 5.5 astronomical units to approximately 4.7, and astronomers cannot yet explain why this is due. However, the brightness of the star did not change any noticeably during this time.
9. (Alpha Taurus; α Tau, Aldebaran). The brightest star in the constellation Taurus. The Arabic name means “next” (i.e. following the Pleiades). Aldebaran is a giant K star. Variable. Although in the sky the star appears to be part of the Hyades cluster, it is not actually a member of it, being twice as close to Earth. In 1997, it was reported about the possible existence of a satellite - a large planet (or a small brown dwarf), with a mass equal to 11 Jupiter masses at a distance of 1.35 AU. The unmanned spacecraft Pioneer 10 is heading towards Aldebaran. If nothing happens to it along the way, it will reach the region of the star in about 2 million years.
10. (Alpha Scorpio; α Sco, Antares). The brightest star in the constellation Scorpio. Red supergiant, M-star, variable, binary The name is of Greek origin and means “competitor of Mars,” which recalls the remarkable color of this star. Antares is a semi-regular variable star whose brightness varies between magnitudes 0.9 and 1.1 with a five-year period. It has a blue companion star of 6th magnitude, only 3 arc seconds distant. Antares B was discovered during one of these occultations on April 13, 1819. The satellite's orbital period is 878 years.
11. (Alpha Virgo; αVir, Spica). The brightest star in the constellation Virgo. It is an eclipsing binary, variable, whose brightness varies by about 0.1 magnitude with a period of 4.014 days. The main component is a blue-white B star with a mass of about eleven solar masses. The name means "cob of corn".
12. (Beta Gemini; β Gem, Pollux). The brightest star in the constellation Gemini, although its designation is Beta rather than Alpha. It seems unlikely that Pollux has become brighter since the time of Bayer (1572-1625). Pollux is an orange giant K star. In classical mythology, the twins Castor and Pollux were the sons of Leda. In 2006, an exoplanet was discovered near the star.
13. (Alpha Southern Pisces; α PsA,
14. (Epsilon Canis Majoris; εCMa, Adara). The second brightest star (after Sirius) in the constellation Canis Major, a giant B star. Has a companion star of 7.5 m. The Arabic name of the star means “virgin”. Approximately 4.7 million years ago, the distance from ε Canis Majoris to Earth was 34 light years, and the star was the brightest in the sky, its brilliance was equal to −4.0 m
15. (Alpha Gemini; α Gem, Castor). The second brightest in the constellation Gemini after Pollux. Its naked-eye magnitude is estimated to be 1.6, but this is the combined brightness of a multiple system consisting of at least six components. There are two A stars with magnitudes 2.0 and 2.9, forming a close visual pair, each of which is a spectroscopic binary, and a more distant red star of magnitude 9, which is an eclipsing binary.
16. (Gamma Orionis; γ Ori, Bellatrix). Giant, B-star, variable, double. The name is of Latin origin and means “warrior woman.” One of the 57 navigational stars of antiquity
17. (Beta Taurus; β Tau, Nat). The second brightest in the constellation Taurus, lying on the tip of one of the bull's horns. The name comes from the Arabic expression "goring with horns." This star on ancient maps depicted the right leg of a human figure in the constellation Auriga and had another designation, Gamma Auriga. Elnat is a B-star.
18. (Epsilon Orionis; ε Ori, Alnilam). One of the three bright stars that form Orion's belt. The Arabic name translates as "string of pearls". Alnilam - supergiant, B-star, variable
19. (Zeta Orionis; ζ Ori, Alnitak). One of the three bright stars that form Orion's belt. The Arabic name translates as "belt". Alnitak is a supergiant, O-star, triple star.
20. (Epsilon Ursa Major; ε UMa, Aliot). The brightest star in the constellation Ursa Major. The Greek letters in this case are assigned to the stars in order of their position, not brightness. Alioth is an A star, possibly having a planet 15 times more massive than Jupiter.
21. (Alpha Ursa Major; αUMa, Dubhe). One of two stars (the other is Merak) of the Big Dipper in Ursa Major, called the Indexes. Giant, K-star, variable. The 5th magnitude companion orbits it every 44 years. Dubhe, literally "bear", is a shortened version of the Arabic name meaning "back of the larger bear".
22. (Alpha Persei;α Per, Mirfak). The brightest star in the constellation Perseus. Yellow supergiant, F-star, variable. The name, of Arabic origin, means "elbow".
23. (This Ursa Major; ηUMa, Benetnash). The star is located at the end of the “tail”. B-star, variable. The Arabic name means “leader of mourners” (for the Arabs, the constellation was seen as a hearse, not a bear).
24. (Beta Canis Majoris; βCMa, Mirzam). The second brightest in the constellation Canis Major. A giant B star, a variable, is the prototype of a class of weakly variable stars such as Beta Canis Majoris. Its brightness changes every six hours by a few hundredths of a magnitude. Such a low level of variability is not detectable with the naked eye.
25. (Alpha Hydra; αHya, Alphard). The brightest star in the constellation Hydra. The name is of Arabic origin and means “solitary snake.” Alphard - K-star, variable, triple.
26. (Alpha Ursa Minor; αUMi, Polar). The brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor, located near the north celestial pole (at a distance of less than one degree). Polaris is the closest pulsating variable star of the Delta Cepheus type to Earth with a period of 3.97 days. But Polar is a very unusual Cepheid: its pulsations fade over a period of about tens of years: in 1900 the change in brightness was ±8%, and in 2005 - approximately 2%. In addition, during this time the star became on average 15% brighter.

THE BRIGHTEST STARS VISIBLE FROM EARTH

Many people, looking at the sky after sunset, wonder what kind of bright white star appears near the Moon, so I am inclined to think that it is VENUS. It is also visible in the morning at 6 o'clock when I rush to work. But I still collected material for comparison.

Sirius, as we see on Wikpedia, visible BEFORE sunset Knowing the exact coordinates of Sirius in the sky, it can be seen during the day with the naked eye. For best viewing, the sky should be very clear and the Sun should be low above horizon.

Jupiter can reach an apparent magnitude of −2.8, making it the third brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. However, Jupiter is also called the Great Red Spot. However, at certain moments

Marsmay briefly exceed the brightness of Jupiter. Mars is called the "Red Planet" because of the reddish hue of its surface given by iron oxide. This means that she is not white at all, which is what needed to be proven.

And here Venus, even in the photos of astronomers, it is THERE, UNDER THE MOON, where I and other amateurs see it...

Syria

- (Alpha Canis Major) is located at a distance of 8.64 light years from us and is the brightest star visible in the night sky. A light year is the distance that light travels in one year, it is about 9.5 trillion km. The distance from Earth to Syria is approximately 80 trillion km. Macca Syria is 2.14 times the mass of the Sun, and its brightness is 24 times. It is also almost 2 times hotter: the temperature on its surface is about 100,000 C. Sirius is the star of the Southhemispheres of the sky .In mid latitudesRussia Sirius is observed in the southern part of the sky in autumn (early morning), winter (from sunrise to sunset) and spring (visible some time after sunset).Sirius is the sixth brightest object in the earth's sky. Only brighter than himSun , Moon , as well as planetsVenus , Jupiter AndMars during the period of best visibility (see also:List of the brightest stars ). For some time, Sirius was considered one of the stars of the so-calledmoving group of Ursa Major . This group includes 220 stars, which are united by the same age and similar movement in space. Initially the group wasopen star cluster , however, at present the cluster as such does not exist - it has disintegrated and become gravitationally unbound. So, most of the stars of the asterism belong to this clusterBig Dipper in Ursa Major. However, scientists subsequently came to the conclusion that this is not so - Sirius is much younger than this cluster and cannot be its representative.

Venus

- second internalplanet solar system with an orbital period of 224.7 Earth days. The planet got its name in honorVenus , goddesses love fromroman pantheon deities.

Venus -brightest object in the night sky except Moon , and reachesapparent magnitude at -4.6. Since Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth , it never seems too far from the Sun: the maximum angle between it and the Sun is 47.8°. Venus reaches its maximum brightness shortly before sunrise or some time after sunset, which gave rise to the name Evening Star or

The best time to observe Venus is shortly before sunrise (some time after sunrise in morning visibility).

Want to know which stars are the brightest in the night sky? Then read our rating of the TOP 10 brightest celestial bodies that are very easy to see at night with the naked eye. But first, a little history.

Historical view of magnitude

Approximately 120 years before Christ, the Greek astronomer Hipparchus created the very first catalog of stars known today. Although this work has not survived to this day, it is assumed that Hipparchus's list included about 850 stars (Subsequently, in the second century AD, Hipparchus's catalog was expanded to 1022 stars thanks to the efforts of another Greek astronomer, Ptolemy. Hipparchus included in his list of stars that could be distinguished in each constellation known at that time, he carefully described the location of each celestial body, and also sorted them on a brightness scale - from 1 to 6, where 1 meant the maximum possible brightness (or “stellar magnitude”) .

This method of measuring brightness is still used today. It is worth noting that in the time of Hipparchus there were no telescopes yet, therefore, looking at the sky with the naked eye, the ancient astronomer could only distinguish stars of the 6th magnitude (the least luminous) by their dimness. Today, with modern ground-based telescopes, we are able to distinguish very dim stars, the magnitude of which reaches 22m. Whereas the Hubble Space Telescope is capable of distinguishing objects of magnitude up to 31m.

Apparent magnitude - what is it?

With the advent of more precise light-measuring instruments, astronomers have decided to use decimal fractions—for example, 2.75m—to denote magnitudes rather than simply roughly indicating the magnitude as 2 or 3.
Today we know stars whose magnitude is brighter than 1m. For example, Vega, which is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, has an apparent magnitude of 0. Any star shining brighter than Vega will have a negative magnitude. For example, Sirius, the brightest star in our night sky, has an apparent magnitude of -1.46m.

Typically, when astronomers talk about magnitudes, they mean "apparent magnitude." As a rule, in such cases, a small Latin letter m is added to the numerical value - for example, 3.24m. This is a measure of the brightness of a star as seen from Earth, without taking into account the presence of an atmosphere that affects the view.

Absolute magnitude - what is it?

However, the brightness of a star depends not only on the power of its glow, but also on the degree of its distance from the Earth. For example, if you light a candle at night, it will shine brightly and illuminate everything around you, but if you move 5-10 meters away from it, its glow will no longer be enough, its brightness will decrease. In other words, you noticed a difference in brightness, although the candle flame remained the same all the time.

Based on this fact, astronomers have found a new way to measure the brightness of a star, which was called “absolute magnitude.” This method determines how bright a star would be if it were exactly 10 parsecs (approximately 33 light years) from Earth. For example, the Sun has an apparent magnitude of -26.7m (because it is very, very close), while its absolute magnitude is only +4.8M.

The absolute magnitude is usually indicated with a capital letter M, for example 2.75M. This method measures the star's actual luminosity, without corrections for distance or other factors (such as gas clouds, dust absorption or scattering of the star's light).

1. Sirius (“Dog Star”) / Sirius

All the stars in the night sky shine, but none shine as brightly as Sirius. The name of the star comes from the Greek word “Seirius”, which means “burning” or “scorching”. With an absolute magnitude of -1.42M, Sirius is the brightest star in our sky after the Sun. This bright star is located in the constellation Canis Major, which is why it is often called the “Dog Star”. In ancient Greece, it was believed that with the appearance of Sirius in the first minutes of dawn, the hottest part of summer began - the “dog days” season.

However, today Sirius is no longer a signal for the beginning of the hottest part of summer, and all because the Earth, over a cycle of 25 thousand 800 years, slowly oscillates around its axis. What causes changes in the position of stars in the night sky.

Sirius is 23 times brighter than our Sun, but at the same time its diameter and mass exceed our celestial body only twice. Note that the distance to the Dog Star is relatively small by cosmic standards, 8.5 light years; it is this fact that largely determines the brightness of this star - it is the 5th closest star to our Sun.

In 1844, German astronomer Friedrich Besse noticed a wobble in Sirius and suggested that the wobble might be caused by the presence of a companion star. After almost 20 years, in 1862, Bessel’s assumptions were 100% confirmed: astronomer Alvan Clark, while testing his new 18.5-inch refractor (the largest in the world at that time), discovered that Sirius is not one star, and two.

This discovery gave rise to a new class of stars: “white dwarfs.” Such stars have a very dense core, since all the hydrogen in them has already been consumed. Astronomers have calculated that Sirius's companion - named Sirius B - has the mass of our Sun packed into the size of our Earth.

Sixteen milliliters of the substance Sirius B (B is the Latin letter) would weigh about 2 tons on Earth. Since the discovery of Sirius B, its more massive companion has been called Sirius A.

How to find Sirius: The best time to observe Sirius is winter (for observers in the northern hemisphere), since the Dog Star appears quite early in the evening sky. To find Sirius, use the constellation Orion as a guide, or rather its three belt stars. Draw a line from the leftmost star of Orion's belt with an inclination of 20 degrees in the direction of the southeast. You can use your own fist as an assistant, which at arm's length covers about 10 degrees of the sky, so you will need about two times the width of your fist.

2. Canopus / Canopus

Canopus is the brightest star in the constellation Carina, and the second brightest, after Sirius, in Earth's night sky. The constellation Carina is relatively new (by astronomical standards), and one of three constellations that were once part of the huge constellation Argo Navis, named after the odyssey of Jason and the Argonauts who fearlessly set out in search of the Golden Fleece. The other two constellations form the sails (constellation Vela) and the stern (constellation Puppis).

Nowadays, spacecraft use light from Canopus as a guide in outer space - a prime example of this is the Soviet interplanetary stations and Voyager 2.

Canopus contains truly incredible power. It is not as close to us as Sirius, but it is very bright. In the ranking of the 10 brightest stars in our night sky, this star takes 2nd place, surpassing our sun in light by 14,800 times! Moreover, Canopus is located 316 light years from the Sun, which is 37 times further than the brightest star in our night sky, Sirius.

Canopus is a yellow-white class F super giant star - a star with temperatures between 5500 and 7800 degrees Celsius. It has already exhausted all its hydrogen reserves, and is now processing its helium core into carbon. This helped the star “grow”: Canopus is 65 times larger than the Sun. If we replaced the Sun with Canopus, this yellow-white giant would devour everything before Mercury's orbit, including the planet itself.

Ultimately, Canopus will become one of the largest white dwarfs in the galaxy, and it may even be large enough to completely recycle all of its carbon reserves, making it a very rare type of neon-oxygen white dwarf. Rare because white dwarfs with carbon-oxygen cores are most common, Canopus is so massive that it can begin to process its carbon into neon and oxygen as it morphs into a smaller, cooler, denser object.

How to find Canopus: With an apparent magnitude of -0.72m, Canopus is fairly easy to find in the starry sky, but in the northern hemisphere this celestial body can only be seen south of 37 degrees north latitude. Focus on Sirius (read how to find it above), Canopis is located approximately 40 degrees north of the brightest star in our night sky.

3. Alpha Centauri / Alpha Centauri

The star Alpha Centauri (also known as Rigel Centaurus) is actually made up of three stars bound together by gravity. The two main (read: more massive) stars are Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B, while the smallest star in the system, a red dwarf, is called Alpha Centauri C.

The Alpha Centauri system is interesting to us primarily for its proximity: located at a distance of 4.3 light years from our Sun, these are the closest stars known to us today.

Alpha Centauri A and B are quite similar to our Sun, while Centauri A can even be called a twin star (both luminaries belong to the yellow G-class stars). In terms of luminosity, Centauri A is 1.5 times greater than the luminosity of the Sun, while its apparent magnitude is 0.01m. As for Centaurus B, its luminosity is half that of its brighter companion, Centaurus A, and its apparent magnitude is 1.3m. The luminosity of the red dwarf, Centauri C, is negligible compared to the other two stars, and its apparent magnitude is 11m.

Of these three stars, the smallest is also the closest - 4.22 light years separate Alpha Centauri C from our Sun - which is why this red dwarf is also called Proxima Centauri (from the Latin word proximus - close).

On clear summer nights, the Alpha Centauri system shines in the starry sky at a magnitude of -0.27m. True, it is best to observe this unusual three-star system in the southern hemisphere of the Earth, starting from 28 degrees north latitude and further south.

Even with a small telescope you can see the two brightest stars of the Alpha Centauri system.

How to find Alpha Centauri: Alpha Centauri is located at the very bottom of the Centaurus constellation. Also, to find this three-star system, you can first find the constellation of the Southern Cross in the starry sky, then mentally continue the horizontal line of the cross towards the west, and you will first stumble upon the star Hadar, and a little further Alpha Centauri will shine brightly.

4. Arcturus / Arcturus

The first three stars of our ranking are mainly visible in the southern hemisphere. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern hemisphere. It is noteworthy that given the binary nature of the Alpha Centauri system, Arcturus can be considered the third brightest star in the Earth's night sky, since it is brighter than the brightest star of the Alpha Centauri system, Centauri A (-0.05m versus -0.01m).

Arcturus, also known as the “Guardian of the Ursa,” is an integral satellite of the constellation Ursa Major, and is very clearly visible in the northern hemisphere of the Earth (in Russia it is visible almost everywhere). The name Arcturus comes from the Greek word “arktos”, which means “bear”.

Arcturus belongs to the type of stars called “orange giants”, its mass is twice the mass of our Sun, while the luminosity of the “Ursa Guardian” is 215 times greater than our daylight star. Light from Arcturus needs to travel 37 Earth years to reach Earth, so when we observe this star from our planet we see what it was like 37 years ago. The brightness of the glow in the night sky of the Earth “Ursa Guard” is -0.04m.

It is noteworthy that Arcturus is in the final stages of his stellar life. Due to the constant battle between gravity and pressure from the star, the Guardian Dipper is now 25 times the diameter of our Sun.

Ultimately, the outer layer of Arcturus will disintegrate and transform into the form of a planetary nebula, similar to the well-known Ring Nebula (M57) in the constellation Lyra. After this, Arcturus will turn into a white dwarf.

It is noteworthy that in the spring, using the above method, you can easily find the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, Spica. To do this, after you find Arcturus, you simply need to continue the Big Dipper arc further.

How to find Arcturus: Arcturus is the alpha (i.e. the brightest star) of the spring constellation Bootes. To find the “Ursa Guardian,” you just need to first find the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) and mentally continue the arc of its handle until you come across a bright orange star. This will be Arcturus, a star that forms, within the composition of several other stars, the figure of a kite.

5. Vega / Vega

The name “Vega” comes from Arabic and means “soaring eagle” or “soaring predator” in Russian. Vega is the brightest star in the Lyra constellation, which is also home to the equally famous Ring Nebula (M57) and the star Epsilon Lyrae.

The Ring Nebula is a glowing shell of gas, somewhat similar to a smoke ring. Presumably this nebula was formed after the explosion of an old star. Epsilon Lyrae, in turn, is a double star, and it can even be seen with the naked eye. However, looking at this double star even through a small telescope, you can see that each individual star also consists of two stars! That is why Epsilon Lyrae is often called a “double double” star.

Vega is a hydrogen-burning dwarf star, 54 times brighter than our Sun, while its mass is only 1.5 times greater. Vega is located 25 light years from the Sun, which is relatively small by cosmic standards; its apparent magnitude in the night sky is 0.03m.

In 1984, astronomers discovered a disk of cold gas surrounding Vega—the first of its kind—extending from the star to a distance of 70 astronomical units (1AU = the distance from the Sun to Earth). By the standards of the Solar System, the outskirts of such a disk would end approximately at the boundaries of the Kuiper Belt. This is a very important discovery, because it is believed that a similar disk was present in our Solar system at the stages of its formation, and served as the beginning of the formation of planets in it.

It is noteworthy that astronomers have discovered “holes” in the disk of gas surrounding Vega, which could reasonably indicate that planets have already formed around this star. This discovery attracted American astronomer and writer Carl Sagan to choose Vega as the source of intelligent extraterrestrial signals transmitted to Earth in his first science fiction novel, Contact. Note that such contacts have never been recorded in real life.

Together with the bright stars Altair and Deneb, Vega forms the famous Summer Triangle, an asterism that symbolically signals the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere of the Earth. This area is ideal for viewing with any size telescope on warm, dark, cloudless summer nights.

Vega is the first star in the world to be photographed. This event took place on July 16, 1850, and an astronomer from Harvard University acted as a photographer. Note that stars dimmer than the 2nd apparent magnitude were generally not accessible for photography with the equipment available at that time.

How to find Vega: Vega is the second brightest star in the northern hemisphere, so finding it in the starry sky will not be difficult. The easiest way to find Vega is to initially search for the Summer Triangle asterism. With the beginning of June in Russia, already with the onset of the first twilight, the “Summer Triangle” is clearly visible in the sky to the southeast. The upper right corner of the triangle is formed by Vega, the upper left by Deneb, and Altair shines below.

6. Capella / Capella

Capella is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, the sixth brightest in the Earth's night sky. If we talk about the northern hemisphere, then Capella occupies an honorable third place among the brightest stars.

Today it is known that Capella is an incredible system of 4 stars: 2 stars are similar yellow G-class giants, the second pair are much dimmer red dwarf stars. The brighter of the two, the yellow giant, named Aa, is 80 times brighter and almost three times more massive than our star. The fainter yellow giant, known as Ab, is 50 times brighter than the Sun and 2.5 times heavier. If you combine the glow of these two yellow giants, they will be 130 times more powerful than our Sun.

The Capella system is located 42 light years away from us, and its apparent magnitude is 0.08m.

If you are at 44 degrees north latitude (Pyatigorsk, Russia) or even further north, you will be able to observe Capella throughout the night: at these latitudes it never goes beyond the horizon.

Both yellow giants are in the final stages of their lives, and very soon (by cosmic standards) will turn into a pair of white dwarfs.

How to find Capella: If you mentally draw a straight line through the two upper stars that form the bucket of the constellation Ursa Major, you will simply inevitably stumble upon the bright star Capella, which is part of the non-standard pentagon of the constellation Auriga.

7. Rigel / Rigel

In the lower right corner of the Orion constellation, the inimitable star Rigel shines royally. According to ancient legends, it was in the place where Rigel shines that the hunter Orion was bitten during a short fight with the insidious Scorpio. Translated from Arabic, “crossbar” means “foot.”

Rigel is a multi-star system in which the brightest star is Rigel A, a blue supergiant whose luminous power is 40 thousand times greater than the Sun. Despite its distance from our celestial body of 775 light years, it shines in our night sky with an indicator of 0.12m.

Rigel is located in the most impressive, in our opinion, winter constellation, the invincible Orion. This is one of the most well-recognized constellations (only the Big Dipper constellation is more popular), since Orion is very easily identified by the shape of the stars, which resembles the outline of a person: three stars located close to each other symbolize the hunter's belt, while four stars located on the edges depict his arms and legs.

If you observe Rigel through a telescope, you can notice its second companion star, whose apparent magnitude is only 7m.

The mass of Rigel is 17 times greater than the mass of the Sun, and it is likely that after some time it will turn into a supernova and our galaxy will be illuminated by incredible light from its explosion. However, it could also happen that Rigel could turn into a rare oxygen-neon white dwarf.

Note that in the constellation of Orion there is another very interesting place: the Great Nebula of Orion (M42), it is located in the lower part of the constellation, under the so-called hunter’s belt, and new stars continue to be born here.

How to find Rigel: First, you should find the constellation Orion (in Russia it is observed throughout the entire territory). The star Rigel will shine brightly in the lower left corner of the constellation.

8. Procyon / Procyon

The star Procyon is located in the small constellation Canis Minor. This constellation depicts the smaller of the two hunting dogs belonging to the hunter Orion (the larger one, as you might guess, symbolizes the constellation Canis Major).

Translated from Greek, the word “procyon” means “ahead of the dog”: in the northern hemisphere, Procyon is the harbinger of the appearance of Sirius, which is also called the “Dog Star”.

Procyon is a yellow-white star with a luminosity 7 times greater than the Sun, while in dimensions it is only twice as large as our star. As with Alpha Centauri, Procyon shines so brightly in our night sky due to its proximity to the Sun - 11.4 light years separate our star from the distant star.

Procyon is at the end of its life cycle: now the star is actively processing the remaining hydrogen into helium. This star is now twice the diameter of our Sun, making it one of the brightest celestial bodies in Earth's night sky at a distance of 20 light years.

It is worth noting that Procyon, together with Betelgeuse and Sirius, forms a well-known and recognizable asterism, the Winter Triangle.

A white dwarf star revolves around Procyon, which was visually discovered in 1896 by the German astronomer John Schieber. At the same time, speculation about the existence of a companion for Procyon was put forward back in 1840, when another German astronomer, Arthur von Auswers, noticed some inconsistencies in the movement of a distant star, which with a high degree of probability could only be explained by the presence of a large and dim body.

The fainter companion, called Procyon B, is three times the size of Earth and has 60% the mass of the Sun. The brighter star of this system has since been called Procyon A.

How to find Procyon: To begin with, we find the well-known constellation Orion. In this constellation, in the upper left corner, there is the star Betelgeuse (also included in our rating), mentally drawing a straight line from it in a western direction, you will certainly stumble upon Procyon.

9. Achernar / Achernar

Achernar, translated from Arabic, means “end of the river,” which is quite natural: this star is the southernmost point of the constellation named after the river from ancient Greek mythology, Eridanus.

Achernar is the hottest star in our TOP 10 rating, its temperature varies from 13 to 19 thousand degrees Celsius. This star is also incredibly bright: it is approximately 3,150 times brighter than our Sun. With an apparent magnitude of 0.45m, light from Achernar takes 144 Earth years to reach our planet.

Achernar is quite close in apparent magnitude to the star Betelgeuse (number 10 in our ranking). However, Achernar is usually placed in 9th place in rankings of the brightest stars, since Betelgeuse is a variable star, whose apparent magnitude can fall from 0.5m to 1.2m, as it did in 1927 and 1941.

Achernar is a massive class B star, weighing eight times more than our Sun. It is now actively converting its hydrogen into helium, which will eventually turn it into a white dwarf.

It is noteworthy that for a planet of the class of our Earth, the most comfortable distance from Achernar (with the possibility of the existence of water in liquid form) would be a distance of 54-73 astronomical units, that is, in the Solar System it would be beyond the orbit of Pluto.

How to find Achernar: Unfortunately, this star is not visible on Russian territory. In general, to view Achernar comfortably, you need to be south of 25 degrees North latitude. To find Achernar, mentally draw a straight line in a southerly direction through the stars Betelgeuse and Rigel; the first super-bright star you will see will be Achernar.

10. Betelgeuse

Don't think that Betelgeuse's importance is as low as its position in our ranking. The distance of 430 light years hides from us the true scale of the supergiant star. However, even at such a distance, Betelgeuse continues to sparkle in the earth’s night sky with an indicator of 0.5m, while this star is 55 thousand times brighter than the Sun.

Betelgeuse means "hunter's armpit" in Arabic.

Betelgeuse marks the eastern shoulder of mighty Orion from the constellation of the same name. Also, Betelgeuse is also called Alpha Orionis, which means that in theory it should be the brightest star in its constellation. However, in fact, the brightest star in the Orion constellation is the star Rigel. This oversight most likely resulted from the fact that Betelgeuse is a variable star (a star that changes its brightness over periods). Therefore, it is likely that at the time when Johannes Bayer assessed the brightness of these two stars, Betelgeuse was shining brighter than Rigel.

The star Betelgeuse is a red supergiant of the M1 class, its diameter is 650 times greater than the diameter of our Sun, while its mass is only 15 times heavier than our celestial body. If we imagine that Betelgeuse becomes our Sun, then everything that is before the orbit of Mars will be absorbed by this giant star!

Once you begin observing Betelgeuse, you will see the star at the end of its long life. Its enormous mass suggests that it most likely converts all its elements into iron. If this is so, then in the near future (by cosmic standards) Betelgeuse will explode and turn into a supernova, and the explosion will be so bright that the power of the glow can be compared with the glow of the crescent moon visible from Earth. The birth of a supernova will leave behind a dense neutron star. Another theory suggests that Betelgeuse could evolve into a rare type of neon-oxygen dwarf star.

How to find Betelgeuse: First, you should find the constellation Orion (in Russia it is observed throughout the entire territory). The star Betelgeuse will shine brightly in the upper right corner of the constellation.