10

• Alternative name:α Southern Fish
• Apparent magnitude: 1,16
• Distance to the Sun: 25 St. years

The brightest star in the constellation Southern Pisces and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. The name of the star means "mouth of the whale" in Arabic.

Fomalhaut is considered a relatively young star, with an age of 200 to 300 million years and an estimated lifespan of a billion years. The temperature on the surface of the star is about 8500 degrees Kelvin. Fomalhaut is 2.3 times heavier than the Sun, the luminosity is 16 times greater, and the radius is 1.85 times. It was found that Fomalhaut belongs to the class of young stars. This star is about 250 million years old. For comparison, our Sun is 4.57 billion years old. It turns out that our Sun is 18 times older than the star Fomalhaut!

According to the latest work of astronomers, it turned out that Fomalhaut is part of a wide triple star system. The main star Fomalhaut A was first identified to have an orange dwarf star, TW Southern Fish (Fomalhaut B), 0.9 light-years away, as its companion. The third star in the system is the red dwarf LP 876-10 (Fomalhaut C). It is 2.5 light years away from Fomalhaut A and has its own comet belt.

The star Fomalhaut is one of the Castor group. This group includes stars that have a common relationship, as well as a common route of movement in space. In addition to the star Fomalhaut, this group also includes such famous celestial bodies as Vega, Alderamin, Castor, Alpha Libra and others.

9

• Alternative name:α Virgo
• Apparent magnitude: 1.04 (variable)
• Distance to the Sun: 250 St. years

The star Spica or Alpha Virgo is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. With an apparent magnitude of 0.98, Spica is the 15th brightest star in the night sky. Its absolute magnitude is -3.2, and the distance to Earth is 262 light years.

Spica is a close binary star whose components complete one revolution around a common center of mass every four days. They are located close enough to each other that they cannot be seen in a telescope as two separate stars. Changes in the orbital motion of this pair result in a Doppler shift in the absorption lines of their respective spectra, making them a spectral binary pair. The orbital parameters for this system were first derived using spectroscopic measurements.

The main star has a spectral type B1 III-IV. It is a massive star with 10 times the mass of the Sun and seven times the radius. The total luminosity of this star is 12,100 times that of the Sun and eight times that of its companion. The primary star of this pair is one of the closest stars to the Sun that has enough mass to end its life in a Type II supernova explosion.

The secondary star of this system is one of the few stars in which the Struve-Sahade effect is observed. This is an anomalous change in the strength of the spectral lines during an orbit, where the lines become weaker as the star moves away from the observer. This star is smaller than the main one. Its mass is seven times that of the Sun, and the radius of the star is 3.6 times the radius of the Sun. The star has a spectral type of B2 V, making it a main sequence star.

8

• Alternative name:α Scorpio
• Apparent magnitude: 0.91 (variable)
• Distance to the Sun:~610 St. years

The brightest star in the constellation Scorpio and one of the brightest stars in the night sky, a red supergiant. It is part of Bubble I, an area adjacent to the Local Bubble, which includes the Solar System.

The word Antares comes from the Greek ανταρης, which means "against Ares (Mars)" due to the fact that it resembles the planet Mars with its red color. The color of this star has aroused the interest of many nations throughout history. In Arabic astronomical tradition, it was called Kalb-al-Akrab (Heart of the Scorpion). Many ancient Egyptian temples are oriented in such a way that the light of Antares played a role in the ceremonies that took place in them. In ancient Persia, Antares, which they called Satevis, was one of the four royal stars. In ancient India it was called Jyestha.

Antares is a class M supergiant, with a diameter of approximately 2.1·10 9 km. Antares is about 600 light-years from Earth. Its luminosity in the visible wavelength range exceeds that of the sun by 10,000 times, but given the fact that the star radiates a significant part of its energy in the infrared, the total luminosity exceeds that of the sun by 65,000 times. The mass of the star is between 12 and 13 solar masses. The huge size and relatively small mass indicate that Antares has a very low density.

Along with Aldebaran, Spica and Regulus, Antares is one of the four brightest stars near the ecliptic. Being about 5 ° from the ecliptic, it is periodically covered by the Moon and occasionally by planets. The sun passes near Antares a little less than 5° north each year on December 2nd.

Antares has a hot blue companion star (Antares B) at a distance of about 2.9 arcseconds. Although it is 5th magnitude, it is usually difficult to see due to the brightness of Antares A. It can be observed with a small telescope for several seconds during occultation by the Moon, when the main component of Antares is obscured by the Moon; Antares B was discovered by the Viennese astronomer Johann Tobias Bürg during one of these occultations on April 13, 1819. The orbital period of the satellite is 878 years.

7

• Alternative name:α Southern Cross
• Apparent magnitude: 0,79
• Distance to the Sun:~330 St. years

The star Acrux or alpha of the Southern Cross is the "Polar Star" of the Southern Hemisphere. With its help, travelers still determine the direction to the south.

The star Acrux or Alpha Southern Cross is the brightest star in the constellation Southern Cross and the twelfth brightest star in the entire expanse of the night sky. This star is one of the few observable stars in the night sky whose name is not of mythological origin. It was formed simply from the name of the constellation Southern Cross itself, which in Latin sounds like "Crux". Alpha constellation Southern Cross - Alpha Crux - A-Crux.

Observations made by astronomers in the past and present century have shown that Acrux is actually a system consisting of three stars. These stars can be distinguished from each other by observing them even with a home telescope. The first star of the Acrux system - Alpha-1 is a spectroscopic binary star. With her companion, she rotates in one orbit with a period of 76 Earth days.

As we have already found out, Acrux is a system of three stars, the nearest of which are at a distance of 320 astronomical units from the solar system. Alpha-1 - the main star of this system has a magnitude of 1.40. Its mass is approximately 14 times the mass of our Sun. The second largest star in this system, Alpha-2, has a magnitude of 2.04 and a mass 10 times the weight of the Sun. As for the third star, it is still not clear whether it is gravitationally bound to the Akrux system or not. According to some data, it is a subgiant included in this system. According to others, this is a separate spectroscopic binary star, which is not related to Acrux. Perhaps further research by astronomers will help resolve this issue.

6

• Alternative name:(β Centauri
• Apparent magnitude: 0.61 (variable)
• Distance to the Sun:~400 St. years

The second brightest star in the constellation Centaurus and the eleventh brightest star in the night sky. Hadar is a blue-white giant located about 525 light-years from the solar system.

Beta Centauri has the two most common names, Hadar and Agena. The first comes from the Arabic language and is translated as "bottom". The second has Latin roots and is translated as "knee". Both names are associated with the location of the star in the constellation Centaurus.

The data obtained by the astronomer J. Booth, back in 1935, confirmed that Beta Centauri is in fact a system consisting of three stars. The star Hadar itself, or, as it is also called, Hadar-A, is a pair of twin stars of spectral class B, which are three astronomical units apart from each other. This distance can vary due to the elliptical orbit in which these bodies move in outer space around a common center of mass. Hadar-B is a space object remote from the first two at a considerable distance - 210 astronomical units. This star is smaller.

All three stars of the Hadar system move in one orbit around a common center of mass with a period of 600 Earth years. Usually, when it comes to the Hadar system, astronomers have in mind the Hadar-A group of stars, consisting of twin stars. The twin stars of the Hadar system are ancient space objects. The data obtained indicate that their age is at least 12 million years. Companion stars also have a fairly large mass. According to various sources, it is within 11-14 masses of our Sun. Current evidence indicates that the Hadar-A twin stars are constantly expanding. This leads some astronomers to believe that they will soon turn into red supergiants, and then explode like supernovae.

5

• Alternative name:α Eridani
• Apparent magnitude: 0,46
• Distance to the Sun: 69 St. years

Achernar is the brightest star in the constellation Eridani and the ninth brightest star in the entire night sky. It is located at the southern end of the constellation. Of the ten brightest stars, Achernar is the hottest and bluest. The star rotates unusually quickly around its axis, which is why it has a very elongated shape. Achernar is a double star. As of 2003, Achernar is the least spherical star ever studied. The star rotates at a speed of 260-310 km/s, which is up to 85% of the break up velocity. Due to the high rotation speed, Achernar is strongly flattened - its equatorial diameter is more than 50% larger than its polar diameter. Achernar's axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of about 65% to the line of sight.

Achernar is a bright blue binary star with a total mass of about eight solar masses. It is a main sequence star of spectral type B6 Vep, with a luminosity of more than three thousand times that of the Sun. The distance from the star to the solar system is approximately 139 light years.

Observations of the star with the VLT have shown that Achernar has a companion orbiting at a distance of about 12.3 AU. and rotating with a period of 14-15 years. Achernar B is a star with a mass of about two solar masses, spectral type A0V-A3V.

The name comes from the Arabic آخر النهر (ākhir an-nahr) - "end of the river" and most likely originally belonged to the star θ Eridani, which bears its own name Akamar with the same etymology.

4

• Alternative name:β Orionis
• Apparent magnitude: 0.12 (variable)
• Distance to the Sun:~870 St. years

With an apparent magnitude of 0.12, Rigel is the seventh brightest star in the sky. Its absolute magnitude is -7 and it is located at a distance of ~870 light-years from us.

Rigel has a spectral class of B8Iae, a surface temperature of 11,000 Kelvin, and its luminosity is 66,000 times greater than that of the Sun. The star has a mass of 17 solar masses and a diameter 78 times that of the Sun.

Rigel is the brightest star in our local region of the Milky Way. The star is so bright that when viewed from a distance of one astronomical unit (the distance from the Earth to the Sun), it will shine as an extremely bright ball with an angular diameter of 35 ° and an apparent magnitude of -32 (for comparison: the apparent magnitude is − 26.72). The power flow at this distance will be the same as from a welding arc from a distance of a few millimeters. Any object so close will be vaporized by the strong stellar wind.

Rigel is a famous binary star, which was first observed by Vasily Yakovlevich Struve in 1831. Although Rigel B has a relatively faint magnitude, its proximity to Rigel A, which is 500 times brighter, makes it one of the targets of amateur astronomers. According to calculations, Rigel B is removed from Rigel A at a distance of 2200 astronomical units. Due to such a colossal distance between them, there is no sign of orbital motion, although they have the same proper motion.

Rigel B itself is a spectroscopic binary consisting of two main sequence stars orbiting a common center of gravity every 9.8 days. Both stars belong to the spectral class B9V.

Rigel is a variable star, which is not common in supergiants, with a magnitude range of 0.03-0.3, changing every 22-25 days.

3

• Alternative name:α Centauri
• Apparent magnitude: −0,27
• Distance to the Sun: 4.3 St. years

Alpha Centauri is a double star in the constellation Centaurus. Both components, α Centauri A and α Centauri B, are visible to the naked eye as a single star −0.27m, making α Centauri the third brightest star in the night sky. Most likely, this system also includes the red dwarf Proxima, or α Centauri C, invisible to the naked eye, which is 2.2 ° away from the bright binary star. All three are the closest stars to the Sun, with Proxima somewhat closer than the others at the moment.

α Centauri has its own names: Rigel Centaurus (romanization of Arabic رجل القنطور‎ - “foot of the Centaur”), Bungula (possibly from Latin ungula - “hoof”) and Toliman (possibly from Arabic الظلمان‎ [al-Zulman] "Ostrich"), but they are used quite rarely.

The first star, Centauri A, is very similar to the Sun. There is a cold thin layer in the atmosphere. The mass of Alpha is 0.08 more than the mass of the Sun, it shines brighter and hotter. She is often reproached that she obscures Beta Centauri, but thanks to the dual union, her girlfriends are visible in the sky.

The second star - Centaurus B is 12% smaller than the Sun, therefore, it is colder. It is separated from Centaurus A by a distance of 23 astronomical units. The stars are highly interconnected. The forces of mutual attraction affect the processes occurring on the surfaces, as well as the formation of planets. Centauri B rotates relative to Centauri A. The orbit looks like a highly elongated ellipse. The turnover takes 80 years, which is very fast on a cosmic scale.

The third component of the system is the star Proxima Centauri. The name of the star means "nearest". It got its name because, thanks to its orbit, it approaches the Earth as close as possible. An object of the eleventh magnitude. Proxima revolves around two stars in 500 thousand years. According to some sources, the rotation period reaches a million years. Its temperature is very low in order to heat nearby objects, so the planets near it are not searched for. Proxima is a red dwarf that sometimes produces very powerful flares.

It takes 1.1 million years to get to Alpha Centauri by modern spacecraft, so it won't happen in the near future.

2

• Alternative name:α Carina
• Apparent magnitude: −0,72
• Distance to the Sun: 310 St. years

The star Canopus or Alpha Carina is the brightest star in the constellation Carina. With an apparent magnitude of -0.72, Canopus is the second brightest star in the sky. Its absolute magnitude is -5.53, and it is 310 light years away from us.

Canopus has a spectral class of A9II, a surface temperature of 7350° Kelvin, and a luminosity 13,600 times that of the Sun. The star Canopus has a mass of 8.5 solar masses and a diameter 65 times that of the Sun.

The diameter of the star Canopus is 0.6 AU, or 65 times that of the Sun. If Canopus were located at the center of the solar system, then its outer edges would extend three-quarters of the way to Mercury. The Earth had to be removed to a distance of three times the orbit of Pluto in order for Canopus to look in the sky just like our Sun.

Canopus is a supergiant of spectral class F and is white when viewed with the naked eye. With a luminosity 13,600 times that of the Sun, Canopus is, in fact, the brightest star, up to 700 light-years from the solar system. If Canopus were located at a distance of 1 astronomical unit (the distance from the Earth to the Sun), then it would have an apparent magnitude of -37.

1

• Alternative name: α Big Dog
• Apparent magnitude: −1,46
• Distance to the Sun: 8.6 St. years

The brightest star in the night sky is undoubtedly Sirius. It shines in the constellation Canis Major and is highly visible in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter months. Although its luminosity exceeds the luminosity of the Sun by 22 times, it is by no means a record in the world of stars - the high visible brightness of Sirius is due to its relative proximity. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is visible during summer, north of the Arctic Circle. The star is located approximately 8.6 light years from the Sun and is one of the stars closest to us. Its brilliance is the result of its true brightness and its proximity to us.

Sirius has a spectral type of A1Vm, a surface temperature of 9940° Kelvin, and a luminosity 25 times that of the Sun. The mass of Sirius is 2.02 solar masses, the diameter is 1.7 times greater than that of the Sun.

Back in the 19th century, astronomers, when studying Sirius, drew attention to the fact that its trajectory, although it is a straight line, is subject to periodic fluctuations. In the projection of the starry sky, it (the trajectory) looked like a wavy curve. Moreover, its periodic fluctuations could be detected even in a short period of time, which in itself was already surprising since we were talking about stars - which are billions of kilometers away from us. Astronomers have suggested that a hidden object that revolves around Sirius with a period of about 50 years is to blame for such “wobbles”. 18 years after a bold assumption, near Sirius, it was possible to discover a small star, which has a magnitude of 8.4 and is the first discovered white dwarf, moreover, also the most massive one discovered to date.

The Sirius system is about 200-300 million years old. Initially, the system consisted of two bright bluish stars. The more massive Sirius B, consuming its resources, became a red giant, after which it ejected its outer layers and became a white dwarf about 120 million years ago. Sirius is colloquially known as the "Dog Star", reflecting his belonging to the constellation Canis Major. The sunrise of Sirius marked the flood of the Nile in ancient Egypt. The name Sirius comes from the ancient Greek "luminous" or "hot".

Sirius is brighter than the nearest star to the Sun - Alpha Centauri, or even supergiants such as Canopus, Rigel, Betelgeuse. Knowing the exact coordinates of Sirius in the sky, it can be seen with the naked eye and during the day. For the best viewing, the sky must be very clear and the Sun low on the horizon. Currently, Sirius is approaching the solar system at a speed of 7.6 km / s, so over time, the apparent brightness of the star will slowly increase.

Currently, the brightest star that can be seen in the earth's sky (besides, of course, the Sun) is Sirius. Its apparent magnitude is -1.46. The fact that Sirius is the brightest star in our sky is largely due to its proximity - a star distant from us at 8.6 light years has a mass of two and a luminosity of twenty-two solar, while in our galaxy there are stars whose luminosity exceeds the solar million times. Another thing is that they are much, much further than Sirius.
As you know, the Sun revolves around the center of the Milky Way, making one revolution in about 225 million years. In the process of this drift, some stars approach the solar system, some move away - so that over thousands of years the pattern of the starry sky gradually changes, and visible stars can become both brighter and dimmer.

So, during the Pliocene, the brightest star in the sky was Adara. Now this blue-white giant is located at a distance of 430 light years from us and has an apparent magnitude of +1.51. But 4.7 million years ago, Adara passed from the solar system at a distance of only 34 light years. Given that the luminosity of the star is 20,000 times greater than the Sun, at that time it sparkled in the night sky almost as brightly as Venus, with an apparent magnitude of -3.99.

After 300,000 years, Adara was replaced by another bright blue giant Mirtsam. The star passed at a distance of 37 light years from the solar system and at that time had an apparent magnitude of -3.65. Since then, Mirtsam has moved away from us at a distance of 500 light years and has dimmed to a magnitude of +1.95. Over the next four million years, the most bright stars Zeta Hare, Askella, Aldebaran, Capella, and thrice Canopus stood in the earthly sky. None of these stars could compare in brightness with Adara and Mirtsam - the brightest among them was Askella, which 1.2 million years ago had an apparent magnitude of -2.74.

Of course, Sirius will not always be the brightest star in the sky either. In about 60 thousand years, it will approach the solar system at a minimum distance of 7.8 light years, reaching a maximum apparent magnitude of -1.64, after which it will begin to gradually move away. In 150 thousand years, Vega will receive the title of the brightest star in our sky. Its maximum apparent magnitude will be -0.8.

In another 270,000 years, Canopus will become the brightest star in the night sky. The funny thing is that by that time it will be at a distance of 350 light years from us and have an apparent magnitude of only -0.4, while now these figures are respectively 310 light years and -0.72. But the fact is that by that time other large stars will move away from us at an even greater distance.

After Canopus, the brightest stars in the earth's sky will be Beta Aurigae and Delta Scuti. The latter will surpass Sirius in brightness for some time, reaching an apparent magnitude of -1.8. This will happen in about 1.25 million years.

For an unambiguous answer to the question, which is the brightest star in the sky, you should rely on various ways measurements of the brightness of these celestial bodies. Since there are several ways to measure and from different points of view it is almost impossible to make an unambiguous rating of the brightest stars, we will use the fact that we will determine how bright a celestial body looks from our planet. Although the most accurate value that studies the brightness of a star is absolute (means what an object looks like from a distance of 10 parsecs). Previously, many people were mistaken, believing that the brightest star is the North. However, in terms of its “shining” capabilities, this star is somewhat behind Sirius, and in the city night sky, due to the illumination of lanterns, it can be problematic to find the North Star. Let's see, after all, which is the brightest star in the night sky beckons with its magical radiance.

Among the brightest celestial bodies, it is impossible not to note the Sun, which perfect way supports life on our planet. It really shines brightly, however, on the scale of the entire Universe, it is not too big and bright. If we find the absolute value, then such a parameter for the Sun will be equal to 4.75. This means that if the celestial body were located in 10 parsecs, then it would hardly be possible to notice it with the naked eye. There are other stars that are much larger in size than our heavenly body, and, therefore, shine much brighter.

It is the brightest star that can be observed from Earth. It is perfectly visible from almost all points of our planet, but it can be best observed in the northern hemisphere in winter. People have honored Sirius since ancient times. For example, the Egyptian people, with the help of this star, determined when the Nile River would begin to flood and when the sowing campaign should begin. From the appearance of a star, the Greeks counted the approach of the hottest days of the year. Sirius was considered no less important for sailors, who with its help navigated the sea. To find Sirius in the night sky, one has only to mentally draw a line between the three stars of Orion's belt. At the same time, one end of the line will rest against Aldebaran, and the other - against Sirius, which pleases the eye with an unusually bright glow.
This star, located in the constellation Canis Major, is a double. It is located at a distance of only eight light years from Earth. This bright star consists of Sirius A (bright and large) and Sirius B (white dwarf), which indicates that the star is a system.

3. CANOPUS

This star, although not as famous as Sirius, is second only to him in brightness. From the territory of our country, this star is almost impossible to see (as well as from almost the entire northern hemisphere). However, in southern hemisphere Canopus is a kind of guiding star, which is used as an orienting sign by navigators. In Soviet times, this star was the main one for astrocorrection, and Sirius was used as a backup star.

This star, located in the Tarantula Nebula, cannot be seen without special instruments. And all because it is located far from the Earth - at a distance of 165,000 light years. But, nevertheless, it is the brightest and one of the largest stars that are known today in our universe. This star is 9,000,000 times brighter than the light of the Sun, and it is 10,000,000 times larger than it. A star with such an incomprehensible name belongs to the class of blue giants, which are quite a rarity. Since there are very few such stars, they are of genuine interest to scientists. Most of all, researchers are interested in what such a star will turn into after its death, and they model various options.

5 VY GREAT DOG

The largest star, which is also considered the brightest. The dimensions of VY Canis Majora were determined relatively recently. If you place this star in the central part of the solar system, then its edge can block the orbit of Jupiter, just a little short of reaching the orbit of Saturn. And if you stretch the circumference of the star into a line, then in order for the light to overcome this distance, you need at least 8-5 hours. In diameter, this celestial object exceeds the diameter of the Earth by two thousand times. And, despite the fact that the density of the star is quite small (0.01 g/m3), this object is still considered to be quite bright.

The starry sky has always attracted people. Even being at a low stage of development, dressing in animal skins and using stone tools, a person already raised his head and examined the mysterious points that shimmered mysteriously in the depths of the vast sky.

The stars have become one of the foundations of human mythology. According to ancient people, it was there that the gods lived. The stars have always been something sacred for a person, unattainable for an ordinary mortal. One of the most ancient sciences of mankind was astrology, which studied the influence of heavenly bodies on human life.

Today, the stars remain the focus of our attention, but it is true that astronomers study them more, and science fiction writers invent stories about the time when a person will be able to reach the stars. A common person often raises his head to admire the beautiful stars in the night sky, just like his distant ancestors did millions of years ago. We have compiled a list for you that includes the most bright stars in the sky.

In tenth place on our list is Betelgeuse, astronomers call it α Orionis. This star is a great mystery to astronomers: they are still arguing about its origin and cannot understand its periodic variability.

This star belongs to the class of red giants and its size is 500-800 times the size of our Sun. If we were to move it into our system, then its boundaries would extend to the orbit of Jupiter. Over the past 15 years, the size of this star has decreased by 15%. Scientists still do not understand the reason for this phenomenon.

Betelgeuse is located at a distance of 570 light-years from the Sun, so a trip to it will definitely not take place in the near future.

The first star in this constellation, it ranks ninth on our list. the brightest stars in the night sky. Achernar is located at the very end of the constellation Eridani. This star is classified as a class of blue stars, it is eight times heavier than our Sun and exceeds it in brightness by a thousand times.

Achernar is located at a distance of 144 light years from our solar system and travel to him in the near future also looks unlikely. One more interesting feature This star is that it rotates around its axis with great speed.

This star is the eighth by its brightness in our firmament. The name of this star is translated from Greek as "before the dog." Procyon enters the winter triangle, along with the stars Sirius and Betelgeuse.

This star is a binary star. In the sky, we can see the larger star of the pair, the second star is a small white dwarf.

There is a legend associated with this star. The constellation Canis Minor symbolizes the dog of the first winemaker, Ikaria, who was killed by treacherous shepherds, after having drunk his own wine beforehand. The faithful dog found the owner's grave.

This star is seventh brightest in our sky. The main reason for the rather low place in our ranking is the very large distance between the Earth and this star. If Rigel were a little closer (at the distance of Sirius, for example), then in its brightness it would surpass many other luminaries.

Rigel belongs to the class of blue-white supergiants. The size of this star is impressive: it is 74 times larger than our Sun. In fact, Rigel is not one star, but three: in addition to the giant, this stellar company includes two more small stars.

Rigel is located at a distance of 870 light years from the Sun, which is a lot.

Translated from Arabic, the name of this star means "leg". People have known this star for a very long time, it was included in the mythology of many peoples, starting with the ancient Egyptians. They considered Rigel to be the incarnation of Osiris, one of the most powerful gods in their pantheon.

One of the most beautiful stars in our sky. This is a double star, which in ancient times was an independent constellation and symbolized a goat with kids. Capella is a double star that consists of two yellow giants that revolve around a common center. Each of these stars is 2.5 times heavier than our Sun and they are located at a distance of 42 light years from our planetary system. These stars are much brighter than our sun.

An ancient Greek legend is associated with the Chapel, according to which Zeus was fed by the goat Amalthea. One day, Zeus carelessly broke off one of the animal's horns, and so a cornucopia appeared in the world.

One of the brightest and beautiful stars in our sky. It is located at a distance of 25 light years from our Sun (which is a fairly small distance). Vega belongs to the constellation Lyra, the size of this star is almost three times the size of our Sun.

This star rotates around its axis at breakneck speed.

Vega can be called one of the most studied stars. It is located at a short distance and is very convenient for research.

Many myths are associated with this star. different peoples our planet. In our latitudes, Vega is one of the brightest stars in the sky and second only to Sirius and Arcturus.

One of the brightest and most beautiful stars in the sky which can be observed anywhere in the world. The reasons for this brightness is the large size of the star and the small distance from it to our planet.

Arcturus belongs to the class of red giants and has a huge size. The distance from our solar system to this star is "only" 36.7 light years. It is more than 25 times larger than our star. At the same time, the brightness of Arcturus is 110 times higher than the Sun.

This star owes its name to the constellation Ursa Major. Translated from Greek, its name means "guardian of the bear." Arcturus is very easy in the starry sky, you just need to draw an imaginary arc through the handle of the Big Dipper bucket.

In second place on our list is a triple star, which belongs to the constellation Centaurus. This star system consists of three stars: two of them are close in size to our Sun and the third star, which is a red dwarf called Proxima Centauri.

Astronomers call the double star that we can see with the naked eye Toliban. These stars are very close to our planetary system, and therefore seem very bright to us. In fact, their brightness and size are quite modest. The distance from the Sun to these stars is only 4.36 light years. By astronomical standards, it's almost there. Proxima Centauri was discovered only in 1915, it behaves rather strangely, its brightness changes periodically.

it the second brightest star in our sky. But, unfortunately, we will not be able to see it, because Canopus is visible only in the southern hemisphere of our planet. In the northern part, it is visible only in tropical latitudes.

This is the brightest star in the southern hemisphere, in addition, it performs the same role in navigation as the North Star in the northern hemisphere.

Canopus is a huge star, which is eight times larger than our luminary. This star belongs to the class of supergiants, and it is in second place in terms of brightness only because the distance to it is very large. The distance from the Sun to Canopus is about 319 light years. Canopus is the brightest star within a radius of 700 light years.

There is no consensus on the origin of the name of the star. Most likely, it got its name in honor of the helmsman who was on the ship of Menelaus (this is a character in the Greek epic about the Trojan War).

The brightest star in our sky, which belongs to the constellation Canis Major. This star can be called the most important for earthlings, of course, after our Sun. Since ancient times, people have been very reverent and respectful of this luminary. There are numerous myths and legends about him. The ancient Egyptians placed their gods on Sirius. This star can be observed from anywhere on the earth's surface.

The ancient Sumerians watched Sirius and believed that it was on it that the gods who created life on our planet are located. The Egyptians watched this star very carefully, it was associated with their religious cults of Osiris and Isis. In addition, according to Sirius, they determined the time of the Nile flood, which was important for agriculture.

If we talk about Sirius from the point of view of astronomy, then it should be noted that this is a double star, which consists of a star of spectral class A1 and a white dwarf (Sirius B). You cannot see the second star with the naked eye. Both stars revolve around a single center with a period of 50 years. Sirius A is about twice the size of our Sun.

Sirius is 8.6 light years away from us.

The ancient Greeks believed that Sirius was the dog of the star hunter Orion, who pursued his prey. There is an African Dogon tribe that worships Sirius. But that's not surprising. Africans, who did not know writing, had information about the existence of Sirius B, which was discovered only in the middle of the 19th century with the help of fairly advanced telescopes. The Dogon calendar is based on the periods of rotation of Sirius B around Sirius A. And it is compiled quite accurately. How a primitive African tribe got all this information is a mystery.

Astronomy

• Translation

Do you know all of them, as well as the reasons for their brightness?

I am hungry for new knowledge. The point is to learn every day, and become brighter and brighter. That is the essence of this world.
- Jay Z

When you imagine the night sky, you most likely think of thousands of stars twinkling on a black blanket of night, something that can only truly be seen away from cities and other sources of light pollution.

But those of us who can't watch such a spectacle on a periodic basis are overlooking the fact that stars seen from urban areas with high light pollution look different than they do when viewed in dark conditions. Their color and relative brightness immediately separate them from their neighboring stars, and each of them has its own story.

Residents of the northern hemisphere can probably immediately recognize the Big Dipper or the letter W in Cassiopeia, while in the southern hemisphere the most famous constellation has to be the Southern Cross. But these stars are not among the ten brightest!

Milky Way near the Southern Cross

Every star has its own life cycle to which she has been attached since birth. In the formation of any star, the dominant element will be hydrogen - the most abundant element in the universe - and its fate is determined only by its mass. Stars with a mass of 8% of the mass of the sun can ignite a nuclear fusion reaction in the core, fusing helium from hydrogen, and their energy gradually moves from the inside out and pours out into the universe. Low-mass stars are red (due to low temperatures), dim, and burn their fuel slowly—the longest-lived stars are destined to burn for trillions of years.

But the more a star gains mass, the hotter its core, and the larger the region in which nuclear fusion takes place. By the time it reaches the solar mass, the star falls into class G, and its lifetime does not exceed ten billion years. Double the solar mass and you have an A star, bright blue, and less than two billion years old. And the most massive stars, classes O and B, live only a few million years, after which they run out of hydrogen fuel in the core. Not surprisingly, the most massive and hottest stars are also the brightest. A typical class A star can be 20 times brighter than the Sun, and the most massive - tens of thousands of times!

But no matter how a star begins life, the hydrogen fuel in its core ends.

And from that moment on, the star begins to burn heavier elements, expanding into a giant star, colder, but also brighter than the original one. The giant phase is shorter than the hydrogen burning phase, but its incredible brightness makes it visible from much long distances than those from which the original star was visible.

Considering all this, let's move on to the ten brightest stars in our sky, in order of increasing brightness.

10. Achernar. A bright blue star, seven times the mass of the Sun and 3,000 times as bright. This is one of the fastest rotating stars known to us! It rotates so fast that its equatorial radius is 56% greater than the polar one, and the temperature at the pole - since it is much closer to the core - is 10,000 K more. But it is quite far from us, at 139 light years.

9. Betelgeuse. A red giant from the constellation of Orion, Betelgeuse was a bright and hot class O star until it ran out of hydrogen and switched to helium. In spite of low temperature at 3500 K, it is more than 100,000 times brighter than the Sun, which is why it is among the ten brightest, despite being 600 light years away. In the next million years, Betelgeuse will go supernova, and temporarily become the brightest star in the sky, possibly visible during the day.

8. Procyon. The star is very different from the ones we have considered. Procyon is a modest F-class star, only 40% larger than the Sun, and is on the verge of running out of hydrogen in its core - that is, it is a subgiant in the process of evolution. It is about 7 times brighter than the Sun, but is only 11.5 light-years away, so it can be brighter than almost all but seven of the stars in our sky.

7. Rigel. In Orion, Betelgeuse is not the brightest of the stars - this distinction is awarded to Rigel, a star even more distant from us. It is 860 light years away, and at a temperature of just 12,000 degrees, Rigel is not a main sequence star - it is a rare blue supergiant! It is 120,000 times brighter than the Sun, and shines so brightly not because of its distance from us, but because of its own brightness.

6. Chapel. This is a strange star, because, in fact, these are two red giants with a temperature comparable to the sun, but each of them is about 78 times brighter than the Sun. At 42 light-years away, it's the combination of its own brightness, its relatively small distance, and the fact that there are two of them that allows Capella to be on our list.

5. Vega. The brightest star from the Summer-Autumn Triangle, the home of aliens from the movie "Contact". Astronomers used it as a standard "zero magnitude" star. It is only 25 light-years away, belongs to the main sequence stars, and is one of the brightest class A stars known to us, as well as quite young, only 400-500 million years old. At the same time, it is 40 times brighter than the Sun, and the fifth brightest star in the sky. And of all the stars in the northern hemisphere, Vega is second only to one star...

4. Arcturus. The orange giant, on the evolutionary scale, is somewhere between Procyon and Capella. This is the brightest star in the northern hemisphere, and it is easy to find it by the “handle” of the Big Dipper bucket. It is 170 times brighter than the Sun, and following the evolutionary path, it can become even brighter! It is only 37 light-years away, and only three stars are brighter than it, all located in the southern hemisphere.

3. Alpha Centauri. This is a triple system in which the main member is very similar to the Sun, and itself is dimmer than any of the ten stars. But the Alpha Centauri system consists of the stars closest to us, so its location affects its apparent brightness - after all, it is only 4.4 light-years away. Not at all like #2 on the list.

2. Canopus. supergiant white color, Canopus is 15,000 times brighter than the Sun, and is the second of the brightest stars in the night sky, despite being 310 light-years away. It is ten times more massive than the Sun and 71 times larger - it is not surprising that it shines so brightly, but it could not reach the first place. The brightest star in the sky is...

1 Sirius. It is twice as bright as Canopus, and observers from the northern hemisphere can often see it in winter, rising behind the constellation Orion. It often twinkles because its bright light can penetrate the lower atmosphere better than the light of other stars. It is only 8.6 light-years away, but it is a class A star, twice as massive and 25 times as luminous as the Sun.

It may surprise you that the first on the list are not the brightest or closest stars, but rather combinations of enough brightness and close enough distance to shine the brightest. Stars twice as far away have four times less brightness, so Sirius shines brighter than Canopus, which shines brighter than Alpha Centauri, and so on. Interestingly, class M dwarf stars, to which three out of every four stars in the universe belong, are not on this list at all.

What can be learned from this lesson: sometimes the things that seem most prominent and most obvious to us turn out to be the most unusual. Common things can be much more difficult to find, but this means that we should improve our methods of observation!