Watching the stars is truly exciting. Even without a telescope, you can find the brightest stars located at different distances from our planet.
The brightest starsobserved from Earth, we have collected in today's top ten. They are all 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 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; it is much larger than the Sun. If we put a star in the place of our star, then it would fill the orbit of Mars. Betelgeuse is visible in the Northern Hemisphere.
9. Achernar
A bright blue star in the constellation Eridanus is visible from the southern hemisphere of the planet. The mass of Achernar is 6-8 times higher than the solar mass. The star is 144 light-years distant from Earth. Among all the bright stars, this one has the least spherical shape, because very quickly rotates around its own axis.
8. Procyon
A star in the constellation Canis Minor is 11.4 light-years distant from Earth. The name of the star in Greek means "in front of the dog." You can observe Procyon in the Northern Hemisphere.
7. Crossbar
A star in the constellation Orion is located near the equator. The crossbar 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
A star in the constellation Auriga is almost 41 light-years distant from Earth. The chapel is visible from the Northern Hemisphere. The peculiarity of this yellow giant is that it is a spectrally binary star. Each of the components of a binary star in mass exceeds the Sun 2.5 times.
5. Vega
The star in the constellation Lyra is clearly visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Vega is 25 light-years distant 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 from Earth. A star consists of three components - a binary system? Centaurus A and? Centauri B, as well as the red dwarf invisible without a telescope. It is believed that Toliman will be the first target for interstellar flights.
2. Canopus
The star in the constellation Kiel is a yellowish-white supergiant. Canopus is 310 light-years distant from Earth. The mass of the star exceeds the solar 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 the Earth (8.6 light years). Sirius is visible from almost all parts of the globe, with the exception of the northernmost regions.
