The brightest star. The brightest stars The brightest star in the sky in January

The starry sky has always attracted man. Even being at a low stage of development, dressing in animal skins and using stone tools, a person already raised his head and looked at the mysterious points that shimmered mysteriously in the depths of the vast sky.

Stars have become one of the foundations of human mythology. According to ancient people, this is where the gods lived. The stars have always been something sacred for humans, unattainable for an ordinary mortal. One of the most ancient sciences of mankind was astrology, which studied the influence of heavenly bodies on human life.

Today, the stars remain in the center of our attention, but, however, astronomers are more involved in their study, and science fiction writers come up with stories about the time when man will be able to reach the stars. An ordinary person often raises his head to admire the beautiful stars in the night sky, just as his distant ancestors did millions of years ago. We have compiled a list for you that contains the brightest stars in the sky.

10.

In tenth place on our list is Betelgeuse, astronomers call it α Orionis. This star poses a great mystery to astronomers: they still argue about its origin and cannot understand its periodic variability.

This star belongs to the class of red giants and its size is 500-800 times greater than the size of our Sun. If we were to move it into our system, its boundaries would extend to the orbit of Jupiter. Over the past 15 years, the size of this star has decreased by 15%. Scientists still do not understand the reason for this phenomenon.

Betelgeuse is located 570 light years from the Sun, so a trip to it will definitely not take place in the near future.

9.

The first star in this constellation, it ranks ninth on our list brightest stars in the night sky. Achernar is located at the very end of the constellation Eridanus. This star is classified as a blue star; it is eight times heavier than our Sun and exceeds it in brightness a thousand times.

Achernar is located 144 light years from our solar system and travel to it in the near future also looks unlikely. Another interesting feature of this star is that it rotates around its axis at tremendous speed.

8.

This star is the eighth by its brightness in our sky. The name of this star is translated from Greek as “before the dog.” Procyon is part of the winter triangle, along with the stars Sirius and Betelgeuse.

This star is a double star. In the sky we can see the larger star of the pair; the second star is a small white dwarf.

There is a legend associated with this star. The constellation Canis Minor symbolizes the dog of the first winemaker, Icarius, who was killed by treacherous shepherds after giving him their own wine to drink. The faithful dog found his owner's grave.

7.

This star is seventh brightest in our sky. The main reason for the rather low place in our ranking is the very large distance between the Earth and this star. If Rigel were a little closer (at the distance of Sirius, for example), then in its brightness it would surpass many other luminaries.

Rigel belongs to the class of blue-white supergiants. The size of this star is impressive: it is 74 times larger than our Sun. Actually, Rigel is not one star, but three: in addition to the giant, this stellar company includes two more small stars.

Rigel is located 870 light years from the Sun, which is a lot.

Translated from Arabic, the name of this star means “leg”. People have known this star for a very long time; it was included in the mythology of many peoples, starting with the ancient Egyptians. They considered Rigel to be the incarnation of Osiris, one of the most powerful gods in their pantheon.

6.

One of the most beautiful stars in our sky. This is a double star, which in ancient times was an independent constellation and symbolized a goat with kids. Capella is a double star that consists of two yellow giants that orbit around a common center. Each of these stars is 2.5 times heavier than our Sun and they are located at a distance of 42 light years from our planetary system. These stars are much brighter than our sun.

An ancient Greek legend is associated with Capella, according to which Zeus was suckled by the goat Amalthea. One day Zeus carelessly broke off one of the animal’s horns and so a cornucopia appeared in the world.

5.

One of the brightest and most beautiful stars in our sky. It is located 25 light years from our Sun (which is quite a short distance). Vega belongs to the constellation Lyra, the size of this star is almost three times the size of our Sun.

This star rotates around its axis at breakneck speed.

Vega can be called one of the most studied stars. It is located a short distance away and is very convenient for research.

Many myths of different peoples of our planet are associated with this star. At our latitudes, Vega is one of the brightest stars in the sky and is second only to Sirius and Arcturus.

4.

One of the brightest and most beautiful stars in the sky, which can be observed anywhere on the globe. The reasons for this brightness are the large size of the star and the small distance from it to our planet.

Arcturus belongs to the class of red giants and is enormous in size. The distance from our solar system to this star is “only” 36.7 light years. It is more than 25 times larger than our star. At the same time, the brightness of Arcturus is 110 times higher than the Sun.

This star owes its name to the constellation Ursa Major. Translated from Greek, its name means “guardian of the bear.” Arcturus is very easy to draw in the starry sky; you just need to draw an imaginary arc through the handle of the Ursa Major bucket.

3.

In second place on our list is a triple star, which belongs to the constellation Centaurus. This star system consists of three stars: two of them are close in size to our Sun and the third star, which is a red dwarf called Proxima Centauri.

Astronomers call the double star that we can see with the naked eye Toliban. These stars are very close to our planetary system, which is why they appear very bright to us. In fact, their brightness and size are quite modest. The distance from the Sun to these stars is only 4.36 light years. By astronomical standards, it's almost there. Proxima Centauri was discovered only in 1915, it behaves quite strangely, its brightness periodically changes.

2.

This the second brightest star in our sky. But, unfortunately, we will not be able to see it, because Canopus is visible only in the southern hemisphere of our planet. In the northern part it is visible only in tropical latitudes.

It is the brightest star in the southern hemisphere and plays the same role in navigation as the North Star in the northern hemisphere.

Canopus is a huge star, eight times larger than our star. This star belongs to the class of supergiants, and it is in second place in brightness only because the distance to it is very great. The distance from the Sun to Canopus is about 319 light years. Canopus is the brightest star within a radius of 700 light years.

There is no consensus on the origin of the name of the star. Most likely, it got its name in honor of the helmsman who was on the ship of Menelaus (this is a character in the Greek epic about the Trojan War).

1.

The brightest star in our sky, which belongs to the constellation Canis Major. This star can be called the most important for earthlings, of course, after our Sun. Since ancient times, people have been very kind and respectful of this luminary. There are numerous myths and legends about him. The ancient Egyptians placed their gods on Sirius. This star can be observed from anywhere on the earth's surface.

The ancient Sumerians observed Sirius and believed that it was on it that the gods who created life on our planet were located. The Egyptians watched this star very carefully; it was associated with their religious cults of Osiris and Isis. In addition, they used Sirius to determine the time of the Nile flood, which was important for agriculture.

If we talk about Sirius from the point of view of astronomy, it should be noted that it is a double star, which consists of a star of spectral class A1 and a white dwarf (Sirius B). You will not be able to see the second star with the naked eye. Both stars revolve around a single center with a period of 50 years. Sirius A is about twice the size of our Sun.

In January, users began sharing photos of an unusually bright star in the night sky on social media. They immediately remembered the prediction of the “British scientist” David Mead, who believes that in 2017 the Earth will collide with “Planet X” and die. Alas, the death of the Earth is slightly delayed. The star in the southwest is Venus.

This is the photo posted on Instagram the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration by user Igor Gulakov. The photo was taken on a phone, and in the frame there is a bright object in the night sky, similar to a star, but unusual in size and intensity of glow.

Looked up at the sky this evening. A very large bright star was burning in the southwest. By analogy with the Christmas star, the worship of the Magi, an unusual president has appeared today. God willing if he brings peace. The main thing is that some Herod does not organize a massacre of babies, otherwise they will already organize unrest and demonstrations.

Many people in January noticed that in the southwest after sunset until midnight in clear weather a large star is visible.

Many have wondered: what kind of celestial body is this?

Is the big bright “star” that I’m looking at now the same asteroid that was talked about recently?
A fascinating sight.

Treeta ☯生きることを支援 (@treeta_miobitat) January 25, 2017

Indeed, last year “renowned British scientist” David Mead said that within a year the Earth would collide with a wandering celestial body known as “Planet X”, and in January he repeated his prediction. He had long predicted that this would happen one day, and even wrote a book about it. Allegedly, signs of destruction are already visible on Earth, for example, earthquakes have become more frequent. The rich have long begun to build bunkers to escape, but this most likely will not help them.

The version with the end of the world began to be actively discussed on the 2ch forum.

Anon in the know, what kind of star has been shining in the sky for weeks now, breaking through the city light? Us ***?

There is jubilation in the comments.

Many perceive the unusual celestial phenomenon with a mixture of apprehension and irony. Some are simply ironic.

What huge star is burning in the west in the evening? Not Sirius, not Venus, not the asteroid Vesta.
It's Elvis coming back and a new era is about to begin.

In fact, the bright star in the southwest is simply our neighboring planet, Venus. Venus in January or March in clear weather is often mistaken for a UFO, a comet, or the end of the world. For example, the year before last such pictures were published by residents of Tver who were lucky with the weather.

Medialeaks called the Pulkovo Observatory to dispel the last doubts that the “Christmas star” in honor of Trump and the “planet Nibiru” are Venus. The observatory's press secretary, Sergei Smirnov, confirmed our worst fears: yes, this is the most ordinary planet, the second from the Sun. It was just that she was clearly visible now. It’s easy to understand that this is Venus, and not a UFO or an “asteroid,” if you take a closer look at what’s around.

Mars is visible to the left and above this bright spot. It is further away and smaller in size, but is also visible to people with good eyesight or those who have chosen glasses well. This is a reliable sign that the bright celestial body is Venus. Now the position of the planets is so favorable for observation, and Venus will shine with a bright lantern for the whole of February. I hope not only for our New Year, but also for the Eastern one - according to the Chinese calendar.

Last October, photographs of Saturn's poles taken by the Cassini spacecraft caused a stir. It turned out that over the past four years the North Pole of the planet Saturn. Scientists are not sure what caused it. But there are hypotheses, and they are reassuring.

Around the same time. The belief in the “planet Nibiru,” which will sooner or later destroy us, has been ineradicable for thousands of years.

Previously, especially for those who are partial to gas and dust nebulae and the event horizon, in gifs and words.

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 distinguish 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 the one 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 short 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.

Which star is the brightest in the sky? This is not as simple a question as it seems. It depends on what you mean by the brightest star.
If we talk about the brightest star in the sky that we see, this is one thing.
But if by brightness we mean the amount of light that a star emits, this is completely different. Because the brightest star in the sky can be so bright simply because it is closer than larger and brighter stars.

Therefore, when talking about the brightest star in the sky, we must distinguish between the apparent and absolute brightness of the stars. They are usually called apparent and absolute magnitude, respectively.
Apparent magnitude is the degree of brightness of a star in the night sky when observed from Earth.
Absolute magnitude is the brightness of a star from a distance of 10 parsecs.

The lower the magnitude, the brighter the star.
For example, the absolute (bolometric) magnitude of the Sun is +4.8 m, and the apparent magnitude is −26.7 m.

The brightest star in the sky

The brightest star in the sky- This is Sirius from the constellation Canis Major.
The apparent magnitude of Sirius is -1.46 m.
The absolute magnitude of this brightest star in the sky is 1.4 m.
By the way, Sirius is a double star, which consists of a dim white dwarf (Sirius B), which is slightly lighter than the Sun, and a brighter star (Sirius A), which is twice as massive as our Sun. Look at this photograph of Sirius taken by the Hubble Telescope. The huge bright star is Sirius A, and the tiny white dot below to the left of the main star is Sirius B.

Due to the fact that Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, it occupies a prominent place in the understanding of many peoples about the structure of the celestial sphere.

Where is Sirius?
Finding Sirius is quite easy. It is best to do this in winter, since Sirius is not visible in summer. First we find the constellation Orion with the famous “Orion’s belt” of three stars. Then you need to face the constellation Orion and find the brightest star below and to the left of it.
This map will help you with this:

The brightest star in the northern hemisphere

The brightest star in the northern hemisphere of the sky- Arcturus. It is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes.
Although Arcturus is the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere, it is the fourth brightest star in the sky.
The first three places are occupied by Sirius, Canopus and Alpha Centauri, which are located in the Southern Hemisphere of the sky.

Here it is necessary to explain that in our northern latitudes we also see part of the southern hemisphere of the celestial sphere. Therefore, in mid-latitudes the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is also visible, but it belongs to the Southern Hemisphere of the celestial sphere. The further we go south, the more stars of the southern hemisphere are available to us, while the stars of the northern hemisphere only descend, but do not disappear completely. And from the equator you can simultaneously observe all the stars of the Southern and Northern hemispheres of the sky.

The brightest star in the Universe

The brightest star in the Universe is star R136a1. The star is located in the R136 cluster, located in the Tarantula Nebula, also known as NGC 2070.

R136a1 is a real giant among the stars. It belongs to a rare class of blue hypergiants.
The red dot is a red dwarf star. The yellow circle is our Sun. Blue - "blue dwarf". And in the background is part of the circle of the star R136a1.

The radius of this star is equal to 36 radii of our Sun.
The mass of R136a1 is 265 solar masses.
The apparent magnitude of the brightest star in the Universe is 12.77 m, and the absolute magnitude of this giant is -12.5 m.

And finally, the luminosity of the star R136a1 is equal to the luminosity of 8,700,000 Sols!

By the way, this brightest star in our sky is still inferior in size to the largest known star - the star UY Scuti.

The human eye has difficulty distinguishing stars up to 7 m in a completely black sky.
But it is usually believed that we see stars up to 6 m, adjusted for artificial illumination of the sky and for the average visual acuity of observers.

The Tarantula Nebula is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which, unfortunately, is not visible from Russia. In addition, the star R136a1 is located at a distance of 165,000 light years, so it is not visible to the naked eye.
But, if someone finds himself south of 20° north latitude with a telescope with a diameter of 150 mm or more, then he may well try to see this largest star in the Universe, known to science today.
Here are its coordinates (J2000 era):
Right ascension: 05h 38m 42.43s
Declination: -69° 06′ 02.2″

Names of the brightest stars

Below are the names of the 20 brightest stars that we can see in the sky with the naked eye.
The list of the brightest stars is given in descending order of apparent magnitude. Names of the brightest stars in the sky

№	Name	Dist., St. years	Magnitude m		Range. Class	Celestial hemisphere	Visibility in Russia
			visible	absolute
0	Sun	0,0000158			−26,72	4,8	G2V		everywhere
1	Sirius (α Canis Major)	8,6	−1,46	1,4	A1Vm	South	except the Far North
2	Canopus (α Carinae)	310	−0,72	−5,53	A9II	South	Not visible
3	Toliman (α Centauri)	4,3	−0,27	4,06	G2V+K1V	South	Not visible
4	Arcturus (α Bootes)	34	−0,04	−0,3	K1.5IIIp	Northern	everywhere
5	Vega (α Lyra)	25	0.03 (variable)	0,6	A0Va	Northern	everywhere
6	Chapel (α Auriga)	41	0,08	−0,5	G6III + G2III	Northern	everywhere
7	Rigel (β Orion)	~870	0.12 (variable)	−7	B8Iae	South	everywhere
8	Procyon (α Canis Minor)	11,4	0,38	2,6	F5IV-V	Northern	everywhere
9	Achernar (α Eridani)	69	0,46	−1,3	B3Vnp	South	Not visible
10	Betelgeuse (α Orion)	~530	0.50 (variable)	−5,14	M2Iab	Northern	everywhere
11	Hadar (β Centauri)	~400	0.61 (variable)	−4,4	B1III	South	Not visible
12	Altair (α Orla)	16	0,77	2,3	A7Vn	Northern	everywhere
13	Acrux (α Southern Cross)	~330	0,79	−4,6	B0.5Iv + B1Vn	South	Not visible
14	Aldebaran (α Taurus)	60	0.85 (variable)	−0,3	K5III	Northern	everywhere
15	Antares (α Scorpio)	~610	0.96 (variable)	−5,2	M1.5Iab	South
16	Spica (α Virgo)	250	0.98 (variable)	−3,2	B1V	South	except the islands of the Arctic Ocean
17	Pollux (β Gemini)	40	1,14	0,7	K0IIIb	Northern	everywhere
18	Fomalhaut (α Southern Pisces)	22	1,16	2,0	A3Va	South	in the south, partly mid-latitudes
19	Mimosa (β Southern Cross)	~290	1.25 (variable)	−4,7	B0.5III	South	Not visible
20	Deneb (α Swan)	~1550	1,25	−7,2	A2Ia	Northern	everywhere

 or tell your friends:

>The brightest star in the sky

Sirius is the brightest star: the meaning of the name Alpha Canis Majoris, characteristics and description with photos, distance from Earth, detection, list of the brightest stars.

Among all the stars known to us, the brightest in the sky is Sirius, which is also called the “Dog Star”. The official name is Alpha Canis Major, located in the constellation of the same name.

Sirius is a binary system with a main sequence (A) star whose apparent magnitude reaches -1.46. It is 8.7 light years away from us and is closest to Earth.

In 1844, Friedrich Bessel noticed that the orbital path of Sirius A was a bit like a wave, which meant there might be a faint satellite nearby. This was confirmed by Alvan Clarke in 1862. We are talking about Sirius B - a white dwarf that can be seen in a large telescope (it has little effect on the overall brightness of the system).

But there are other stars near us, why is Sirius the brightest? The fact is that most stars belong to the category of red dwarfs. They are not only small, but also dim. In fact, the closest is the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri. This is an M-type, less than a G-type (Sun). The brightest is A-type (Sirius).

The starry sky can captivate you for a lifetime thanks to its bright lights. Even with the naked eye you can see that some objects shine brighter than others. Scientists measure the brightness of celestial bodies using a scale. The smaller the object itself, the brighter it will be.

List of the brightest stars in the sky

We know which star is the brightest for an observer on Earth. However, other bright celestial bodies can be found in space. You can admire the brightest stars in the sky and their “apparent magnitudes” (as they are seen towards the Earth). Use our online star map to find them yourself through a telescope.

Achernar

The star Achernar is located in the constellation Eridanus and is 69 light years away from us. The apparent value is 0.46, and the absolute value is -1.3.

Procyon is located 11.4 light years away in the constellation Canis Minor. The apparent value is 0.38, with an absolute value of 2.6.

Rigel is located 1,400 light years away and nestles in the constellation Orion. The apparent value is 0.12, and the absolute value reaches -8.1.

Capella is located in the constellation Auriga (41 light years). The apparent magnitude is 0.08, and the absolute magnitude is 0.4.

The star Vega is located in the constellation Lyra (25 light years). The apparent value is 0.03, and the absolute value is 0.6.

Arcturus is located in the constellation Bootes (34 light years). The apparent value is -0.04, and the absolute value is 0.2.

Alpha Centauri is the third brightest star in the entire sky. It is located in the Alpha Centauri system and is 4.3 light years away. The apparent value reaches -0.27, and the absolute value – 4.4.

The star Canopus is located in the constellation Carina (74 light years). The apparent value is -0.72, and the absolute value reaches -2.5.

Lives in the constellation Canis Major. It is 8.6 light years away from us. The apparent value is -1.46, and the absolute value is 1.4.

The Sun is the closest star to us, 93 million miles away. The apparent magnitude is -26.72, and the absolute value is 4.2.