The brightest southern star. The most beautiful objects in the night sky that are worth seeing. The most beautiful star in the sky

People have always admired the starry sky. Even in the Stone Age, living in caves and dressed in skins, at night they raised their heads to the sky and admired the glowing lights.


Today the stars still attract our eyes. We know well that the brightest of them is the Sun. But what are the others called? What are the brightest stars besides the Sun?

1 Sirius

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. It is not much higher (only 22 times), but due to its proximity to the Earth, it is more noticeable than others. The star can be seen from almost any corner of the globe, except for the northern regions.

In 1862, astronomers discovered that Sirius had a companion star. Both of them revolve around a single center of mass, but only one of them is visible from the Earth - Sirius A. According to scientists, the star is gradually approaching the Sun. Its speed is 7.6 km / s, so over time it will become even brighter.

2. Canopus

Canopus is in the constellation Carina and is the second brightest after Sirius. It belongs to the supergiants, exceeding the Sun in radius by 65 times.

Among all the stars located at a distance of 700 light years from Earth, Canopus has the highest luminosity, but due to its remoteness, it does not shine as brightly as Sirius. Once, before the invention of the compass, sailors used it as a guiding star.

3. Toliman

Toliman is another name for Alpha Centauri. In fact, it is a binary system with stars A and B, but these stars are so close to each other that they cannot be distinguished with the naked eye. The third brightest in the sky is one of them - Alpha Centauri A.

In the same system there is another star - Proxima Centauri, but usually it is considered separately, and in terms of brightness it is not even included in the 25 stars with the highest luminosity.

4. Arcturus

Arcturus belongs to the orange giants and shines brighter than other stars included with it. In different regions of the Earth, it can be seen at different times of the year, but in Russia it is always visible.

According to the observations of astronomers, Arcturus is a variable star, that is, changing its brightness. Every 8 days, its brightness varies by 0.04 magnitude, which is explained by the pulsation of the surface.

5. Vega

The fifth brightest star is included in the constellation Lyra and is the most studied after the Sun. Vega is located at a small distance from the solar system (only 25 light years) and is visible from anywhere on the planet, with the exception of Antarctica and the northern regions of North America.

Around Vega is a disk of gas and dust, which, under the influence of its energy, emits infrared rays.

6. Chapel

From an astronomical point of view, the star is interesting for its binary system. Capella is two giant stars, 100 million kilometers apart. One of them called Chapel Aa is old and gradually begins to fade.


The second one, Capella Ab, still shines quite brightly, but, according to scientists, the processes of helium synthesis have already ended in it. Sooner or later, the shells of both stars will expand and touch each other.

7. Rigel

The luminosity of Rigel is 130 thousand times greater than the Sun. This is one of the most powerful stars in the Milky Way, but due to its remoteness from the solar system (773 light years), it is only seventh in brightness.

Like Arcturus, Rigel is considered a variable star and changes its brightness at intervals of 22 to 25 days.

8. Procyon

Procyon's distance from Earth is only 11.4 light years. Its system includes two stars - Procyon A (bright) and Procyon B (dim). The first is a yellow subgiant and shines about 7.5 times brighter than the Sun. Due to its age, over time it will begin to expand and will shine much better.

It is believed that sooner or later it will increase to 150 times its current size, and then take on an orange or red color.

9. Achernar

In the list of the 10 brightest stars in the sky, Achernar takes only ninth place, but at the same time she is the hottest and bluest. The star is located in the constellation Eridani and shines 3000 times brighter than the Sun.

An interesting feature of Achernar is a very fast rotation around its axis, as a result of which it has an elongated shape.

10. Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse's maximum luminosity is 105,000 times that of the Sun, but it's about 640 light-years from the solar system, so it's not as bright as the previous nine stars.


Due to the fact that the brightness of Betelgeuse gradually decreases from the center to the surface, scientists still cannot calculate its diameter.

Details Oleg Nekhaev

Zvezdnoe The sky that you see on this map (below) represents the real position of the planets, bright stars and constellations at the moment. It is enough to make adjustments to the program settings and you will see everything on the screen, based on your location. How to set up the "starry sky"? How to see the most interesting in space?

At the top left of the map there are two lines: date and time, below - coordinates. The first line automatically displays the time you opened this page. Want to see what the sky will look like later? Enter the year, month, day, and time to see how the stars in the sky are positioned at the right time. Depending on the geographical point, there will be a different position of the luminaries and planets. To set the desired coordinates, click on the second line. Enter the latitude and longitude if you know them, or find them in the column below using the navigator. Write the name of the city (preferably in Latin), click search (Search). If he is successful. Close the panel. If the "select" box appears, click on this column and select the one you are looking for from the options. Close the window and check the new values.

To find out the coordinates, you can contact through the Yandex-map search. Enter the name of the area (settlement) and click "search". The coordinates of the place will appear on the right. Write them down. For most locations, Wikipedia can help as well. Enter the name of the city in the search and in the right column you will see the necessary numbers. Attention! Enter data without degrees and minutes symbols. After an integer, put a dot and add the rest of the numbers without separation. Write down the latitude first. By default, the coordinates of the center of Moscow are set.

A star chart is very convenient not only for preparing views through a telescope, but also for ordinary observations of space objects, without the use of technical means. You will always know: which planets shine in the sky or how they call the conspicuous star that you saw today, and what is the name of the constellation that appeared in the sky. You will be able to observe the passage of low-orbit satellites of the Iridium system. And they are very important to look at a certain point. Surprisingly bright flashes periodically emanate from these devices. Reminiscent of the fall of noticeable meteorites. The brightness of this phenomenon is such that it is second only to the Sun and the Moon. Or you can predict the flight path of the International Space Station in advance. And you will wait for its appearance in a certain place in the starry sky. Live broadcast from the station is conducted on Sibirik. And you can calculate the exact time of the apparent passage of the ISS in your place on our page using this LINK .

Small explanations. The starry sky in the diagram appears to us as if it is above our head. For its real perception, you need to make a mental turn of the image. The cardinal points indicated in the diagram will help the correct representation. On the map you see them along the edges of the circle. You need to bring them to reality. Find out where North is at your location using a compass or other means, such as GPS-Glonass navigation in apps on your smartphone or tablet. And then mentally place a map of the starry sky according to them, based on the revealed data, or rotate the configured map using the cursor.

Notation. Lilac color The names of the constellations are marked on the map. White are the names of the brightest stars. Turquoise the contour shows the boundaries of the Milky Way. Arc Red reflects the ecliptic - the trajectory (projection) of the Sun's movement. The same path is followed by the planets of our star system. They are displayed orange color. light green radiant points of meteor showers are shown. During periods of their activity, on some of the days, you can see "star rain" coming from this area. May you be lucky.

Do not forget that in the northern hemisphere, where the vast majority of visitors to our site are located, the most significant, coordinate star is Polaris. It is easy to find in the sky if you take the famous constellation to help. Ursa Major(Ursa Major), or rather her Big Bucket. On the map, her second star in the pen is highlighted - Mizar (Mizar). So, if you draw a line up through the last two stars of the bucket, then after five the same distances as between these stars, you will find Polaris. She is the only one that is in one place, and all the others, as it were, revolve around her. She points to the North. Therefore, it has always been called the guiding one.
Other visible bright stars are not difficult to deal with. Some of the most notable...

Deneb is one of the largest and is the most powerful star of all the 25 brightest stars in the sky known to science. In one day, Deneb emits more light than our Sun in 140 years. A very distant star.

Sirius- according to perception - the brightest star for us. Because it is located much closer to us than other luminaries, with the exception, of course, of the Sun. Actually it is double. And it has a lot of mobility. In about 11,000 years, Sirius will no longer be visible to those who live in Europe.

Arcturus. Orange giant. One of the brightest stars. All year round it can be seen from the territory of Russia. Arcturus was the first star to be seen through a telescope during the day. It happened over three hundred years ago.

Vega. A young, rapidly rotating star. The best studied (if you do not take into account the Sun). The first one that I managed to photograph well. Apart from Antarctica, it can be seen from almost anywhere in the world. Vega is one of the favorite "heroines" of science fiction writers.

Altair- a star close enough to us. It is located just 159 trillion kilometers away. Compare: the mentioned Deneb is almost a hundred times farther from us.

Rigel- a blue-white supergiant. More than seventy times the size of the Sun. So far away from us that the light we now see was emitted by a star 860 light years ago. Compare: the light from the moon reaches us in one second at a distance of about 400 thousand kilometers. Rigel is a star of incredible power in its luminosity and monstrously distant. And, if somewhere there is an observer, then he perceives it as his own sun. By the way, from that corner of the Universe, it is impossible even with the most powerful telescope to see our Sun, not to mention the Earth on which we live...

Pay attention! 1. Carefully read the instructions for displaying the sky map. Many ask questions about the location of stars and planets, which they themselves can get answers by entering the appropriate data into the map settings. 2. There are visible "parades of planets" and invisible ones (without the use of binoculars and telescopes). The latter occur quite often. The nearest visible parade of five planets from the territory of Russia will occur only in 2022. Don't believe the frequent reports about the "end of the world" and how the position of the planets can affect the rotation of the Earth.

Clear skies and good luck with your observations!

10

• Alternative name:α Orionis
• Apparent magnitude: 0.50 (variable)
• Distance to the Sun: 495 - 640 St. years

Betelgeuse is a bright star in the constellation Orion. A red supergiant, a semi-regular variable star whose brightness varies from 0.2 to 1.2 magnitudes. The minimum luminosity of Betelgeuse is 80 thousand times greater than the luminosity of the Sun, and the maximum is 105 thousand times. The distance to the star is, according to various estimates, from 495 to 640 light years. This is one of the largest stars known to astronomers: if it were placed in the place of the Sun, then at a minimum size it would fill the orbit of Mars, and at a maximum size it would reach the orbit of Jupiter.

The angular diameter of Betelgeuse, according to modern estimates, is about 0.055 arcseconds. If we take the distance to Betelgeuse equal to 570 light years, then its diameter will exceed the diameter of the Sun by about 950-1000 times. The mass of Betelgeuse is approximately 13-17 solar masses.

9

• Alternative name:α Eridani
• Apparent magnitude: 0,46
• Distance to the Sun: 69 St. years

Achernar is the brightest star in the constellation Eridani and the ninth brightest star in the entire night sky. It is located at the southern end of the constellation. Of the ten brightest stars, Achernar is the hottest and bluest. The star rotates unusually quickly around its axis, which is why it has a very elongated shape. Achernar is a double star. As of 2003, Achernar is the least spherical star ever studied. The star rotates at a speed of 260-310 km/s, which is up to 85% of the break up velocity. Due to the high rotation speed, Achernar is strongly flattened - its equatorial diameter is more than 50% larger than its polar diameter. Achernar's axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of about 65% to the line of sight.

Achernar is a bright blue binary star with a total mass of about eight solar masses. It is a main sequence star of spectral type B6 Vep, with a luminosity of more than three thousand times that of the Sun. The distance from the star to the solar system is approximately 139 light years.

Observations of the star with the VLT have shown that Achernar has a companion orbiting at a distance of about 12.3 AU. and rotating with a period of 14-15 years. Achernar B is a star with a mass of about two solar masses, spectral type A0V-A3V.

The name comes from the Arabic آخر النهر (ākhir an-nahr) - "end of the river" and most likely originally belonged to the star θ Eridani, which bears its own name Akamar with the same etymology.

8

• Alternative name:α Small Dog
• Apparent magnitude: 0,38
• Distance to the Sun: 11.46 St. years

To the naked eye, Procyon looks like a single star. In fact, Procyon is a binary star system consisting of a main sequence white dwarf called Procyon A and a faint white dwarf called Procyon B. Procyon looks so bright not because of its luminosity, but because of its proximity to the Sun. The system is located at a distance of 11.46 light years (3.51 parsecs) and is one of our closest neighbors.

The origin of the name Procyon is very interesting. It is based on long observation. The literal translation from the Greek is "before the Dog", more literary - "the harbinger of the dog." The Arabs called him - "Sirius, shedding tears." All names have a direct connection with Sirius, who was worshiped by many ancient peoples. Not surprisingly, observing the starry sky, they noticed the harbinger of the rising Sirius - Procyon. He appears in the sky 40 minutes earlier, as if running ahead. If you imagine Canis Minor in the picture, then Procyon should be looked for in its hind legs.

Procyon shines like 8 of our Suns and is the eighth brightest star in the night sky, the luminosity is 6.9 times greater than that of the Sun. The mass of the star is 1.4 times the mass of the Sun, and the diameter is 2 times. It is moving towards the solar system at a speed of 4500 m per second

Finding Procyon is not difficult. To do this, you need to face south. Find the belt of Orion with your eyes and draw a line from the lower star of the belt to the east. You can navigate by the larger constellation Gemini. In relation to the horizon, the Small Dog is below them. And finding Procyon in the constellation Canis is not difficult, because it is the only bright object, and it attracts with its radiance. Since the constellation Canis Minor is equatorial, that is, it rises very low above the horizon, it rises differently at different times of the year and the best time for its observations is winter.

7

• Alternative name:β Orionis
• Apparent magnitude: 0.12 (variable)
• Distance to the Sun:~870 St. years

With an apparent magnitude of 0.12, Rigel is the seventh brightest star in the sky. Its absolute magnitude is -7 and it is located at a distance of ~870 light-years from us.

Rigel has a spectral class of B8Iae, a surface temperature of 11,000 Kelvin, and its luminosity is 66,000 times greater than that of the Sun. The star has a mass of 17 solar masses and a diameter 78 times that of the Sun.

Rigel is the brightest star in our local region of the Milky Way. The star is so bright that when viewed from a distance of one astronomical unit (the distance from the Earth to the Sun), it will shine as an extremely bright ball with an angular diameter of 35 ° and an apparent magnitude of -32 (for comparison: the apparent magnitude is − 26.72). The power flow at this distance will be the same as from a welding arc from a distance of a few millimeters. Any object so close will be vaporized by the strong stellar wind.

Rigel is a famous binary star, which was first observed by Vasily Yakovlevich Struve in 1831. Although Rigel B has a relatively faint magnitude, its proximity to Rigel A, which is 500 times brighter, makes it one of the targets of amateur astronomers. According to calculations, Rigel B is removed from Rigel A at a distance of 2200 astronomical units. Due to such a colossal distance between them, there is no sign of orbital motion, although they have the same proper motion.

Rigel B itself is a spectroscopic binary consisting of two main sequence stars orbiting a common center of gravity every 9.8 days. Both stars belong to the spectral class B9V.

Rigel is a variable star, which is not common in supergiants, with a magnitude range of 0.03-0.3, changing every 22-25 days.

6

• Alternative name:α Aurigae
• Apparent magnitude: 0,08
• Distance to the Sun: 42.6 St. years

Capella is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, the sixth brightest star in the sky and the third brightest in the sky of the Northern Hemisphere.

Capella (lat. Capella - "Goat"), also Capra (lat. Capra - "goat"), Al Khayot (Arabic العيوق - "goat") - a yellow giant. In the drawing of the constellation, Capella is located on the shoulder of the Auriga. On sky maps, a goat was often drawn on this shoulder of the Charioteer. It is closer to the north celestial pole than any other star of the first magnitude (the North Star is only of the second magnitude) and therefore plays an important role in many mythological tales.

From an astronomical point of view, Capella is interesting in that it is a spectroscopic binary star. Two giant stars of spectral type G, with a luminosity of about 77 and 78 solar, are 100 million km apart (2/3 of the distance from the Earth to the Sun) and rotate with a period of 104 days. The first and fainter component - Capella Aa has already evolved from the main sequence and is at the stage of a red giant, helium combustion processes have already begun in the interior of the star. The second and brighter component - Capella Ab has also left the main sequence and is on the so-called "Hertzsprung gap" - a transitional stage in the evolution of stars, in which the thermonuclear synthesis of helium from hydrogen in the core has already ended, but helium combustion has not yet begun. Capella is a source of gamma radiation, possibly due to magnetic activity on the surface of one of the components.

The masses of the stars are approximately the same and amount to 2.5 solar masses for each star. In the future, due to the expansion to the red giant, the shells of the stars will expand and, quite likely, will come into contact.

The central stars also have a faint companion, which, in turn, is itself a double star, consisting of two class M stars - red dwarfs orbiting the main pair in an orbit with a radius of about one light year.

Capella was the brightest star in the sky from 210,000 to 160,000 BC. e. Prior to this, the role of the brightest star in the sky was played by Aldebaran, and after that by Canopus.

5

• Alternative name:α Lyra
• Apparent magnitude: 0.03 (variable)
• Distance to the Sun: b> 25.3 St. years

In summer and autumn, in the night sky, in the northern hemisphere of the celestial sphere, the so-called Great Summer Triangle can be distinguished. This is one of the most famous asterisms. We already know that it includes the familiar Deneb and Altair. They are located "lower", and at the top of the Triangle is Vega - a bright blue star, which is the main one in the constellation Lyra.

Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second (after Arcturus) in the Northern Hemisphere. Vega is located at a distance of 25.3 light years from the Sun and is one of the brightest stars in its vicinity (at a distance of up to 10 parsecs). This star has a spectral type of A0Va, a surface temperature of 9600° Kelvin, and its luminosity is 37 times greater than that of the Sun. The mass of the star is 2.1 solar masses, the diameter is 2.3 times that of the Sun.

The name "Vega" comes from an approximate transliteration of the word waqi ("falling") from the phrase Arab. النسر الواقع‎ (an-nasr al-wāqi‘), meaning “falling eagle” or “falling vulture”.

Vega, sometimes referred to by astronomers as "probably the most important star after the Sun," is currently the most studied star in the night sky. Vega was the first star (after the Sun) to be photographed and also the first star to have its emission spectrum determined. Also, Vega was one of the first stars to which the distance was determined by the parallax method. The brightness of Vega has long been taken as zero when measuring stellar magnitudes, that is, it was a reference point and was one of the six stars that underlie the scale of UBV photometry (measurement of star radiation in various spectral ranges).

Vega rotates very quickly around its axis, at its equator the rotation speed reaches 274 km / s. Vega spins a hundred times faster, resulting in an ellipsoid of revolution. The temperature of its photosphere is not uniform: the maximum temperature is at the pole of the star, and the minimum temperature is at the equator. At present, from Earth, Vega is observed almost from the pole, and therefore it appears as a bright blue-white star. Recently, asymmetries have been identified in the disk of Vega, indicating the possible presence of at least one planet near Vega, which may be approximately the size of Jupiter.

In the XII century BC. Vega was the North Star and will be again in 12,000 years. The "change" of the Polar stars is connected with the phenomenon of the precession of the earth's axis.

4

• Alternative name:α Bootes
• Apparent magnitude:−0.05 (variable)
• Distance to the Sun: 36.7 St. years

Arcturus (Alramech, Azimech, Colanza) is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes and the northern hemisphere and the fourth brightest star in the night sky after Sirius, Canopus and the Alpha Centauri system. The apparent magnitude of Arcturus is −0.05m. It enters the Arcturus stellar stream, which, according to Ivan Minchev from the University of Strasbourg and his colleagues, arose as a result of the absorption of another galaxy by the Milky Way about 2 billion years ago.

Arcturus is one of the brightest stars in the sky and therefore easy to find in the sky. Visible anywhere in the world north of 71° S due to its slight northerly declination. To find it in the sky, you need to lay an arc through the three stars of the handle of the Big Dipper bucket - Aliot, Mizar, Benetnash (Alkaid).

Arcturus is an orange giant of spectral type K1.5 IIIpe. The letters "pe" (from the English peculiar emission) mean that the spectrum of the star is atypical and contains emission lines. In the optical range, Arcturus is more than 110 times brighter than the Sun. From observations it is assumed that Arcturus is a variable star, its brightness changes by 0.04 magnitude every 8.3 days. As with most red giants, the reason for the variability is the pulsation of the star's surface. Radius - 25.7 ± 0.3 solar radii, surface temperature - 4300 K. The exact mass of the star is unknown, but most likely close to the solar mass. Arcturus is now at that stage of stellar evolution, in which our daylight star will be in the future - in the red giant phase. The age of Arcturus is about 7.1 billion years (but not more than 8.5 billion)

Arcturus, like more than 50 other stars, is in the Arcturus stream, which brings together stars of different age and metallicity level, moving with similar speed and direction. Given the high speeds of the stars, it is possible that in the past they were captured and absorbed by the Milky Way along with their parent galaxy. Therefore, Arcturus, one of the brightest and relatively close stars to us, may have an extragalactic origin.

The name of the star comes from other Greek. Ἀρκτοῦρος, ἄρκτου οὖρος, "Guardian of the Bear". According to one version of the ancient Greek legend, Arcturus is identified with Arkad, who was placed in the sky by Zeus to protect his mother, the nymph Callisto, who was turned by Hera into a bear (the constellation Ursa Major). According to another version, Arkad is the constellation of Bootes, the brightest star of which is Arcturus.

In Arabic, Arcturus is called Haris-as-sama, "keeper of the heavens" (see Haris).

In Hawaiian, Arcturus is called Hokulea (gav. Hōkūle’a) - “star of happiness”, in the Hawaiian Islands it culminates almost exactly at its zenith. Ancient Hawaiian navigators relied on its height when they sailed to Hawaii.

3

• Alternative name:α Centauri
• Apparent magnitude: −0,27
• Distance to the Sun: 4.3 St. years

Alpha Centauri is a double star in the constellation Centaurus. Both components, α Centauri A and α Centauri B, are visible to the naked eye as a single star −0.27m, making α Centauri the third brightest star in the night sky. Most likely, this system also includes the red dwarf Proxima, or α Centauri C, invisible to the naked eye, which is 2.2 ° away from the bright binary star. All three are the closest stars to the Sun, with Proxima somewhat closer than the others at the moment.

α Centauri has its own names: Rigel Centaurus (romanization of Arabic رجل القنطور‎ - “foot of the Centaur”), Bungula (possibly from Latin ungula - “hoof”) and Toliman (possibly from Arabic الظلمان‎ [al-Zulman] "Ostrich"), but they are used quite rarely.

The first star, Centauri A, is very similar to the Sun. There is a cold thin layer in the atmosphere. The mass of Alpha is 0.08 more than the mass of the Sun, it shines brighter and hotter. She is often reproached that she obscures Beta Centauri, but thanks to the dual union, her girlfriends are visible in the sky.

The second star - Centaurus B is 12% smaller than the Sun, therefore, it is colder. It is separated from Centaurus A by a distance of 23 astronomical units. The stars are highly interconnected. The forces of mutual attraction affect the processes occurring on the surfaces, as well as the formation of planets. Centauri B rotates relative to Centauri A. The orbit looks like a highly elongated ellipse. The turnover takes 80 years, which is very fast on a cosmic scale.

The third component of the system is the star Proxima Centauri. The name of the star means "nearest". It got its name because, thanks to its orbit, it approaches the Earth as close as possible. An object of the eleventh magnitude. Proxima revolves around two stars in 500 thousand years. According to some sources, the rotation period reaches a million years. Its temperature is very low in order to heat nearby objects, so the planets near it are not searched for. Proxima is a red dwarf that sometimes produces very powerful flares.

It takes 1.1 million years to get to Alpha Centauri by modern spacecraft, so it won't happen in the near future.

2

• Alternative name:α Carina
• Apparent magnitude: −0,72
• Distance to the Sun: 310 St. years

The star Canopus or Alpha Carina is the brightest star in the constellation Carina. With an apparent magnitude of -0.72, Canopus is the second brightest star in the sky. Its absolute magnitude is -5.53, and it is 310 light years away from us.

Canopus has a spectral class of A9II, a surface temperature of 7350° Kelvin, and a luminosity 13,600 times that of the Sun. The star Canopus has a mass of 8.5 solar masses and a diameter 65 times that of the Sun.

The diameter of the star Canopus is 0.6 AU, or 65 times that of the Sun. If Canopus were located at the center of the solar system, then its outer edges would extend three-quarters of the way to Mercury. The Earth had to be removed to a distance of three times the orbit of Pluto in order for Canopus to look in the sky just like our Sun.

Canopus is a supergiant of spectral class F and is white when viewed with the naked eye. With a luminosity 13,600 times that of the Sun, Canopus is, in fact, the brightest star, up to 700 light-years from the solar system. If Canopus were located at a distance of 1 astronomical unit (the distance from the Earth to the Sun), then it would have an apparent magnitude of -37.

1

• Alternative name:α Canis Major
• Apparent magnitude: −1,46
• Distance to the Sun: 8.6 St. years

The brightest star in the night sky is undoubtedly Sirius. It shines in the constellation Canis Major and is highly visible in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter months. Although its luminosity exceeds the luminosity of the Sun by 22 times, it is by no means a record in the world of stars - the high visible brightness of Sirius is due to its relative proximity. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is visible during summer, north of the Arctic Circle. The star is located approximately 8.6 light years from the Sun and is one of the stars closest to us. Its brilliance is the result of its true brightness and its proximity to us.

Sirius has a spectral type of A1Vm, a surface temperature of 9940° Kelvin, and a luminosity 25 times that of the Sun. The mass of Sirius is 2.02 solar masses, the diameter is 1.7 times greater than that of the Sun.

Back in the 19th century, astronomers, when studying Sirius, drew attention to the fact that its trajectory, although it is a straight line, is subject to periodic fluctuations. In the projection of the starry sky, it (the trajectory) looked like a wavy curve. Moreover, its periodic fluctuations could be detected even in a short period of time, which in itself was already surprising since we were talking about stars - which are billions of kilometers away from us. Astronomers have suggested that a hidden object that revolves around Sirius with a period of about 50 years is to blame for such “wobbles”. 18 years after a bold assumption, near Sirius, it was possible to discover a small star, which has a magnitude of 8.4 and is the first discovered white dwarf, moreover, also the most massive one discovered to date.

The Sirius system is about 200-300 million years old. Initially, the system consisted of two bright bluish stars. The more massive Sirius B, consuming its resources, became a red giant, after which it ejected its outer layers and became a white dwarf about 120 million years ago. Sirius is colloquially known as the "Dog Star", reflecting his belonging to the constellation Canis Major. The sunrise of Sirius marked the flood of the Nile in ancient Egypt. The name Sirius comes from the ancient Greek "luminous" or "hot".

Sirius is brighter than the nearest star to the Sun - Alpha Centauri, or even supergiants such as Canopus, Rigel, Betelgeuse. Knowing the exact coordinates of Sirius in the sky, it can be seen with the naked eye and during the day. For the best viewing, the sky must be very clear and the Sun low on the horizon. Currently, Sirius is approaching the solar system at a speed of 7.6 km / s, so over time, the apparent brightness of the star will slowly increase.

Stargazing is a truly exciting experience. Even without a telescope, you can find the brightest stars located at different distances from our planet.

The brightest stars, observed from the Earth, we have collected in today's top ten. All of them are ranked by apparent magnitude, which is a measure of the brightness of a celestial body. Naturally, we do not include the Sun in this ten, considering the stars that we observe exclusively at night.

10. Betelgeuse

This star from the constellation Orion is located at a distance of 495 to 650 light years. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant and much larger than the Sun. If we place a star in the place of our luminary, then it would fill the orbit of Mars. Betelgeuse is visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

9. Achernar

The bright blue star in the constellation Eridani is visible from the planet's southern hemisphere. The mass of Achernar is 6-8 times that of the sun. The star is 144 light years away from Earth. Among all, this one has the least spherical shape, because. rotates very quickly around its own axis.

8. Procyon

The star in the constellation Canis Minor is 11.4 light years away from Earth. The name of the star in Greek means "before the dog." Procyon can be observed in the Northern Hemisphere.

7. Rigel

A star in the constellation Orion is located near the equator. Rigel is located at a distance of 860 light years from Earth. This is one of the most powerful stars in our Galaxy, its mass exceeds the solar one by 17 times, and its brightness is 130,000 times.

6. Chapel

The star in the constellation Auriga is almost 41 light years away from Earth. The chapel is visible from the Northern Hemisphere. The peculiarity of this yellow giant is that it is a spectroscopic double star. Each of the components of a binary star is 2.5 times the mass of the Sun.

5. Vega

The star in the constellation Lyra is clearly visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Vega is 25 light years away from Earth. This star is well studied by astronomers, because located relatively close to the solar system.

4. Arcturus

This orange giant is the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere. Arcturus is 34 light years from Earth. From the territory of Russia, the star is visible all year round. Arcturus is 110 times brighter than the Sun.

3. Toliman (Alpha Centauri)

The closest star to the Sun is 4.3 light years away from Earth. A star has three components - a binary system? Centauri A and? Centaurus B, as well as a red dwarf invisible without a telescope. It is believed that Toliman will become the first target for interstellar flights.

2. Canopus

The star in the constellation Carina is a yellowish-white supergiant. Canopus is 310 light years away from Earth. The mass of the star exceeds the solar one by 8-9 times, the diameter is 65 times larger than the Sun.

1 Sirius

The brightest star is in the constellation Canis Major. The brightness of Sirius is due to its relative proximity to Earth (8.6 light years). Sirius is visible from almost all parts of the globe except for the northernmost regions.

If you ask any random person, then almost everyone will answer - "". This star is without a doubt the brightest and most popular, which is why most people think that she is popular because she is the brightest. However, it is not. Polaris takes only 42nd place in brightness among the stars of the night sky.
Stars have different brightness and color. Each star has its own, to which it is attached from the moment of birth. In the formation of any star, the dominant element is hydrogen - the most abundant element in the universe - and its fate is determined only by its mass. Stars with a mass of 8% of the mass of the Sun can ignite a nuclear fusion reaction in the core, fusing helium from hydrogen, and their energy gradually moves from the inside out and pours out into the Universe. Stars of low mass, due to low temperatures, are red, dim, and burn their fuel slowly - the longest-lived ones are destined to burn for trillions of years. But the more a star gains mass, the hotter its core, and the larger the region in which nuclear fusion takes place. Not surprisingly, the most massive and hottest stars are also the brightest. The most massive and hottest stars can be tens of thousands of times brighter than the Sun!

What is the brightest star in the sky?

This is not as simple a question as it seems. It all depends on what you mean by the brightest star.
Speaking of the brightest star in the sky that we see- that's one thing. And if by brightness we mean the amount of light emitted by a star, then this is completely different. One star in the sky can be brighter than another simply because it is closer than the larger, brighter stars.

When they talk about the brightest star in the sky

When talking about the brightest star in the sky, it is necessary to distinguish between the apparent and absolute brightness of the stars. They are usually called the apparent and absolute stellar magnitudes, respectively.

• Apparent magnitude is the brightness of a star in the night sky as viewed from Earth.
• The absolute magnitude is the brightness of a star from a distance of 10 parsecs.

The smaller the magnitude, the brighter the star.

is the brightest star in the night sky

The brightest star in the sky is undoubtedly Sirius. It shines and is highly visible in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter months. The apparent stellar magnitude of Sirius is -1.46 m. Sirius is 20 times brighter than the Sun and twice as massive as it. The star is located approximately 8.6 light years from the Sun and is one of the stars closest to us. Its brilliance is the result of its true brightness and its proximity to us.
Sirius is a double star, the brightest star in the night sky, which is part of the constellation Canis Major, is also called α Canis Major. A binary star is a system of two gravitationally bound stars circulating in closed orbits around a common center of mass. The second star, Sirius B, has a magnitude of 8.4, is slightly lighter than the Sun, and is the first, and also the most massive, discovered to date. The average distance between these stars is about 20 AU. e., which is comparable to the distance from the Sun to Uranus. The age of Sirius (according to calculations) is approximately 230 million years.
Sirius A will exist on the main sequence for about 660 million more years, after which it will turn into a red giant, and then shed its outer shell and become a white dwarf. Therefore, the estimated duration of the life cycle of Sirius A can be about 1 billion years.

List of brightest stars

Distance: 0.0000158 light years
Apparent magnitude: −26,72
Absolute magnitude: 4,8

Sirius (α Canis Major)

Distance: 8.6 light years
Apparent magnitude: −1,46
Absolute magnitude: 1,4

Canopus (α Carinae)

Distance: 310 light years
Apparent magnitude: −0,72
Absolute magnitude: −5,53

Toliman (α Centauri)

Distance: 4.3 light years
Apparent magnitude: −0,27
Absolute magnitude: 4,06

Arcturus (α Bootes)

Distance: 36.7 light years
Apparent magnitude: −0,05
Absolute magnitude: −0,3