Star Statistics
Note: (var) means that the star varies in brightness.
Apparent magnitude: brightness, as seen from Earth; the lower
the magnitude, the brighter the star.
| The Brightest Stars in the Sky |
|
| Name |
Constellation to which star belongs |
Apparent Magnitude |
| Sirius |
Canis Major |
-1.46 |
| Canopus |
Carina |
-0.72 |
| Rigil Kent (Alpha Centauri) |
Centaurus |
-0.27 |
| Arcturus |
Bootes |
-0.04 |
| Vega |
Lyra |
+0.03 |
| Capella |
Auriga |
+0.08 |
| Rigel |
Orion |
+0.12 |
| Procyon |
Canis Minor |
+0.38 |
| Achernar |
Eridanus |
+0.46 |
| Betelgeuse |
Orion |
+0.50 (var) |
Note: Proxima Centauri is part of the Alpha Centauri system.
Apparent magnitude: brightness, as seen from Earth; the lower
the magnitude, the brighter the star.
| The Nearest Stars |
|
| Star |
Distance (light-years) |
Apparent Magnitude |
| Proxima Centauri |
4.2 |
+11.0 |
| Alpha Centauri |
4.3 |
-0.3 |
| Barnard's Star |
6.0 |
+9.5 |
| Wolf 359 |
7.7 |
+13.5 |
| Lalande 21185 |
8.2 |
+7.5 |
| UV Ceti |
8.4 |
+12.5 |
| Sirius |
8.6 |
-1.46 |
| Ross 154 |
9.4 |
+10.5 |
| Ross 248 |
10.4 |
+12.3 |
| Epsilon Eridani |
10.8 |
+3.7 |
| Ross 128 |
10.9 |
+11.1 |
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
The
Summer 2010 issue of The Earth Scientist, available in our
online store, includes articles on rivers and snow, classroom planetariums, satellites and oceanography, hands-on astronomy, and global warming.
You might also be interested in:
Astronomers use the term "magnitude" to describe the brightness of an object. The magnitude scale for stars was invented by the ancient Greeks, possibly by Hipparchus around 150 B.C. The Greeks grouped
...more
In the 1960's, the United States launched a series of satellites to look for very high energy photons, called Gamma Rays, that are produced whenever a nuclear bomb explodes. These satellites soon detected
...more
The introduction of telescopes to the study of astronomy opened up the universe, but it took some time for astronomers to realize how vast the universe could be. Telescopes revealed that our night sky
...more
Neutron Stars are the end point of a massive star's life. When a really massive star runs out of nuclear fuel in its core the core begins to collapse under gravity. When the core collapses the entire star
...more
Spiral galaxies may remind you of pinwheels turning slowly as though in some intergalactic breeze. They are rotating disks of gas, dust and stars. Through a telescope or binoculars, the bright nucleus
...more
White Dwarfs are the remnants of stars that were massive enough to stay alive using nuclear fusion in their cores, but not massive enough to blow apart in a Type II supernova. When stars like our own sun
...more
What's in a Name: Arabic for "head of the demon" Claim to Fame: Represents Medusa's eye in Perseus. A special variable star that "winks" every 3 days. Type of Star: Blue-white Main Sequence Star, and
...more
