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The Sun is the brightest star as viewed from Earth, at −26.78 mag. The second brightest is Sirius at −1.46 mag. For comparison, the brightest non-stellar objects in the Solar System have maximum brightnesses of: the Moon −12.7 mag [1] Venus −4.92 mag; Jupiter −2.94 mag; Mars −2.94 mag; Mercury −2.48 mag; Saturn −0.55 mag [2]
The first star in the list, Godzilla [1] — an LBV in the distant Sunburst galaxy — is probably the brightest star ever observed, although it is believed to be undergoing a temporary episode of increased luminosity that has lasted at least seven years, in a similar manner to the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae that was witnessed in the 19th ...
Sirius is currently the brightest star in Earth's night sky, but it has not always been so. Canopus has persistently been the brightest star over the ages; other stars appear brighter only during relatively temporary periods, during which they are passing the Solar System at a much closer distance than Canopus .
The bright star at top center is Alhena, which forms a cross-shaped asterism with the Winter Triangle. With an apparent magnitude of −1.46, Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, almost twice as bright as the second-brightest star, Canopus. [72]
Despite its relative brightness, it is not, as is popularly believed, the brightest star in the sky. [39] Polaris lying halfway between the asterisms Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper. Polaris was referenced in Nathaniel Bowditch's 1802 book, American Practical Navigator, where it is listed as one of the navigational stars. [40]
Betelgeuse is the brightest near-infrared source in the sky with a J band magnitude of −2.99; [95] only about 13% of the star's radiant energy is emitted as visible light. If human eyes were sensitive to radiation at all wavelengths, Betelgeuse would appear as the brightest star in the night sky. [34] Betelgeuse seen close-up
Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere and the fourth-brightest star in the night sky, [14] after Sirius (−1.46 apparent magnitude), Canopus (−0.72) and α Centauri (combined
First-magnitude stars are the brightest stars in the night sky, with apparent magnitudes lower (i.e. brighter) than +1.50. [1] [2] Hipparchus, in the 1st century BC, introduced the magnitude scale. He allocated the first magnitude to the 20 brightest stars and the sixth magnitude to the faintest stars visible to the naked eye.