Stars
The 25 brightest stars
| Star | Name | RA | Dec | App.
(abs.) vis. mag.* |
Distance (Ly) | Spectral Type | |
|
(1980.0) |
(1980.0) |
||||||
| The Sun | -26.72
(4.85) |
G2V | |||||
| 1 | Alpha CMa | Sirius | 06 44.2 | -16 42 | -1.46
(+1.4) |
8.7 | A1V |
| 2 | Alpha Car | Canopus | 06 23.5 | -52 41 - | -0.72
(-3.1) |
98.0 | F0Ib-II |
| 3 | Alpha Boo | Arcturus | 14 14.8 | +19 17 | -0.06
(-0.3) |
36.0 | K2IIIp |
| 4 | Alpha Cen | Rigil Kent | 14 38.4 | -60 46 | 0.01
(+4.4) |
4.2 | G2V |
| 5 | Alpha Lyr | Vega | 18 36.2 | +38 46 | 0.04
(+0.5) |
26.5 | A0V |
| 6 | Alpha Aur | Capella | 05 15.2 | +45 59 | 0.05
(-0.6) |
45.0 | G8III? |
| 7 | Beta Ori | Rigel | 05 13.6 | -08 13 | 0.14
(-7.1) |
900.0 | B8Ia |
| 8 | Alpha CMi | Procyon | 07 38.2 | +05 17 | 0.37
(+2.6) |
11.4 | F5IV-V |
| 9 | Alpha Ori | Betelgeuse | 05 54.0 | +07 24 | 0.41
(-5.6) |
520.0 | M2Iab |
| 10 | Alpha Eri | Achenar | 01 37.0 | -57 20 | 0.51
(-2.3) |
118.0 | B3Vp |
| 11 | Beta Cen | Hadar | 14 02.4 | -60 16 | 0.63
(-5.2) |
490.0 | B1III |
| 12 | Alpha Aql | Altair | 19 49.8 | +08 49 | 0.76
(+2.2) |
16.5 | A7IV-V |
| 13 | Alpha Tau | Aldebaran | 04 34.8 | +16 28 | 0.86
(-0.7) |
68.0 | K5III |
| 14 | Alpha Vir | Spica | 13 24.1 | -11 03 | 0.91
(-3.3) |
220.0 | B1V |
| 15 | Alpha Sco | Antares | 16 28.2 | -26 23 | 0.92
(-5.1) |
520.0 | M1Ib |
| 16 | Alpha PsA | Fomalhaut | 22 56.5 | -29 44 | 1.15
(+2.0) |
22.6 | A3V |
| 17 | Beta Gem | Pollux | 07 44.1 | +28 05 | 1.16
(+1.0) |
35.0 | K0III |
| 18 | Alpha Cyg | Deneb | 20 40.7 | +45 12 | 1.26
(-7.1) |
1600.0 | A2Ia |
| 19 | Beta Cru | 12 46.6 | -59 35 | 1.28
(-4.6) |
490.0 | B0.5III | |
| 20 | Alpha Leo | Regulus | 10 07.3 | +12 04 | 1.36
(-0.7) |
84.0 | B7V |
| 21 | Alpha Cru | Acrux | 12 25.4 | -62 59 | 1.39
(-3.9) |
370.0 | B0.5IV |
| 22 | Epsilon CMa | Adhara | 06 57.8 | -28 57 | 1.48
(-5.1) |
680.0 | B2II |
| 23 | Lambda Sco | Shaula | 17 32.3 | -37 05 | 1.60
(-3.3) |
310.0 | B1V |
| 24 | Gamma Ori | Bellatrix | 05 24.0 | +06 20 | 1.64
(-4.2) |
470.0 | B2III |
| 25 | Beta Tau | Elnath | 05 25.0 | +28 36 | 1.65
(-3.2) |
300.0 | B7III |
*App. vis. mag. = Apparent visual magnitude
Abs. vis. mag. = Absolute visual magnitude
Notes
Sirius is the brightest star in the sky. Sirius B is a white dwarf, as is Procyon B. They have about the same mass as the Sun but are only about one fiftieth of its diameter.
Apart from the Sun, Alpha Cen is the closest star in the sky. It has two components A and B which are close together and can only be seen separately in a small telescope. The third component, called Proxima, which is a faint star well separated from A and B is the closest of the three.
The spectral types indicate the temperature and luminosity of the star. The temperatures, from hottest to coolest run from classes O to M in the order O-B-A-F-G-K-M. In each class there are subclasses from 0 to 9. The luminosities are indicated by roman numerals with I being a supergiant, III a giant and V a dwarf.
The brightest known stars in our galaxy are very luminous red supergiants. They have spectral types M0-8 Ia+ and absolute magnitudes of -9 to -10 (about 4,000,000 times as bright as the Sun). They are believed to have masses about 30 times that of the Sun.
Stars
