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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]
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
The closest system is Alpha Centauri, with Proxima Centauri as the closest star in that system, at 4.2465 light-years from Earth. The brightest, most massive and most luminous object among those 131 is Sirius A , which is also the brightest star in Earth's night sky ; its white dwarf companion Sirius B is the hottest object among them.
For a list of the brightest stars seen from Earth, see the list of brightest stars. There are three stars with over 1 million L ☉ and visible to the naked eye: WR 22, WR 24 and Eta Carinae. All of these stars are located in the Carina nebula.
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] From Earth , Sirius always appears dimmer than Jupiter and Venus , and at certain times also dimmer than Mercury and Mars . [ 73 ]
This is a list of the nearest supergiant stars to Earth, located at a distance of up to 1,100 light-years (340 parsecs) from Earth. Some of the brightest stars in the night sky, such as Rigel and Antares, are in the list.
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 .
Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only 25 light-years (7.7 parsecs) from the Sun, and one of the most luminous stars in the Sun's neighborhood.