Bright Stars

🌟 Brightest Stars (Visible from Earth)

Rank	Star Name	Apparent Magnitude	Constellation	Notes
1	Sirius	−1.46	Canis Major	Brightest star in the night sky.
2	Canopus	−0.72	Carina	Bright in southern skies.
3	Rigil Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri)	−0.27	Centaurus	Closest star system to Earth.
4	Arcturus	−0.05	Boötes	Brightest in northern hemisphere.
5	Vega	+0.03	Lyra	Used as a baseline for magnitude.
6	Capella	+0.08	Auriga	Multiple-star system.
7	Rigel	+0.12	Orion	A blue supergiant.
8	Procyon	+0.38	Canis Minor	Close and bright.
9	Achernar	+0.46	Eridanus	Flattened star due to fast spin.
10	Betelgeuse	+0.50 (varies)	Orion	A red supergiant — variable star.
11	Hadar	+0.61	Centaurus	Southern skies.
12	Altair	+0.76	Aquila	Rapidly rotating star.
13	Acrux	+0.77	Crux (Southern Cross)	Double star.
14	Aldebaran	+0.85	Taurus	Eye of the bull.
15	Antares	+1.06 (varies)	Scorpius	Red supergiant; rivals Mars in color.

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Notes:

• These are apparent magnitudes, i.e., brightness as seen from Earth, not intrinsic luminosity.
• Stars like Betelgeuse and Antares are variable, so their brightness changes.
• Bright planets (like Venus, Jupiter) often outshine even Sirius, but they’re not stars.