Stargazing 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 according to their apparent magnitude, which is a measure of the brightness of a celestial body. Naturally, we do not include the Sun in this top ten, considering the stars that we observe exclusively at night.
10. Betelgeuse
This star from the constellation Orion is located 495 to 650 light years away. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant, much larger than the Sun. If you 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 Eridani is visible from the planet's southern hemisphere. Achernar's mass is 6-8 times that of the sun. The star is 144 light years distant from Earth. Among all bright stars this one has the least spherical shape, because rotates very quickly 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 is translated from Greek as "in front of the dog." Procyon can be observed in the Northern Hemisphere.
7. Crossbar
A star in the constellation Orion is located near the equator. Rigel is 860 light-years from Earth. It is one of the most powerful stars in our Galaxy, with a mass 17 times greater than that of the Sun and a brightness of 130,000 times.
6. Chapel
A star in the constellation Auriga is about 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 spectroscopic binary star. Each of the components of the binary star is 2.5 times the mass of the Sun.
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 distant 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 has three components - a binary system? Centauri A and? Centauri B, as well as a red dwarf invisible without a telescope. It is believed that Toliman will be the first target for interstellar travel.
2. Canopus
The star in the constellation Carina is a yellowish-white supergiant. Canopus is located 310 light years from Earth. The mass of the star exceeds the solar mass by 8-9 times, the diameter is 65 times greater 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 Earth (8.6 light years). Sirius is visible from almost all parts of the globe with the exception of the northernmost regions.