What is the most beautiful star in the universe? This article will compile a list of the brightest stars in the sky for you .
In crowded cities, you can only see the brightest stars when there is no light pollution, even on a clear night.
On the other hand, in a really dark location, you might see thousands of stars twinkling above you. But even then, some stars will be significantly brighter than others, and the brightest stars will be among the few stars visible to city dwellers.
There are a number of reasons why some stars appear brighter than others. Perhaps the most obvious is that they are all at different distances from us. It should come as no surprise that stars that are closer tend to appear brighter than stars that are farther away. In fact, the closest star to us is the sun, and when it appears in the sky, it shines so brightly that we can't see any other stars.
Below is a list of the 10 brightest stars in the sky as observed from Earth.
10. Archerna
The star Archerna is located in the constellation Eridanus, 69 light years from Earth. The star has an apparent magnitude of 0.46 and an absolute magnitude of -1.3.
9. Procyon
Procyon is the 8th brightest star in the sky with an apparent magnitude of 0.38 and an absolute magnitude of 2.6. It is located in the constellation Canns Minor, 11.4 light years from Earth.
8. Rigel
Light from Rigel reflects off the space dust that makes up the Nebula cluster.
This is a blue giant star found in Orion, 1400 light years from Earth. The 7th brightest star in the sky, it has an apparent magnitude of 0.12 and an absolute magnitude of -8.1.
7. Capella
Capella is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, and the sixth brightest in the night sky with an apparent magnitude of 0.08 and an absolute magnitude of 0.4. The star is 41 light years from Earth.
6. Vega - Vega
The bright star Vega stands out in the upper center of this image of the Milky Way illuminating the western sky over Iowa, USA, on March 31, 2013.
Vega in the constellation Lyra has an apparent magnitude of 0.03 and an absolute magnitude of 0.6. Vega is 25 light years from Earth.
5. Arcturus - The Great Awakening Star
The Moon is in the center of the image, and Arcturus is the fourth brightest star in the upper right corner.
Located in the constellation Bootes, Arcturus is one of the brightest and closest stars to us, 34 light years away from Earth. The star is orange-yellow in color with an apparent magnitude of -0.04 and an absolute magnitude of 0.2.
4. Rigil Kentaurus
Although Rigil Kentaurus' brightness is due to the density of the star system around it - known as Alpha Centauri Rigil Kentaurus - it is still the third brightest star in the night sky. Rigil Kentaurus is the Sun's nearest neighbor and is 4.3 light years away from Earth. The star's apparent magnitude is -0.27 and its absolute magnitude is 4.4.
3. Canopus
Astronaut Donald R. Pettit's photo, taken aboard the ISS, captures an image of Canopus.
Canopus is located in the constellation Carina, 74 light years from Earth. It is the second brightest star in the sky with an apparent magnitude of -0.72 and an absolute magnitude of -2.5.
Sirius A and the blue dot on the right are its cousins, Sirius B, in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Sirius is 8.6 light years from Earth and is located in the constellation Canis Major. Its apparent magnitude is -1.46 and its absolute magnitude is 1.4.
1. The Sun
The Sun is the brightest star with an apparent magnitude of -26.72 and an absolute magnitude of 4.2. It is closest to our planet at a distance of 9149 668 992 km.