What makes stars bright?
Several factors contribute to the brightness of a star that can be seen from Earth’s surface. The main two factors are the size of the star and the distance from the earth. For instance, the Sun is the closest star to Earth, so therefore the Sun is the brightest star you can see. But what about the stars that can only be seen at night?
What is the brightest star in the sky at night?
You may have heard of Sirius Black, the character from Harry Potter who can transform into a dog. Well, Sirius Black got his name from the star Sirius also known as the Dog Star, which is the brightest star in the sky. Officially called Alpha Canis Majoris due to its position in the Canis Major constellation, Sirius means ‘glowing’ in Greek which is quite accurate as the only objects that outshine it are the International Space Station, some planets, and the full moon.
Sirius is located at a magnitude of -1.46 and is located with a right ascension at 6 hours 45 minutes 8.9 seconds, and declination of -16 degrees 42 minutes 58 seconds. You can easily see Sirius in the Northern Hemisphere due to it being relatively close to earth in comparison to other stars which are 8.6 light-years away and because of its mass which is two times that of our sun. However, it can also be seen from the Southern Hemisphere as it is located on the Celestial Equator.Binary Star System: Sirius A and Sirius B
Sirius, in its entirety, is part of a Binary star system that contains two different starts, Sirius A and Sirius B. A A binary star system is when two stars orbit around a common center of mass making them gravitationally bound to each other. In 1862, astronomers realized that Sirius A had a second star gravitationally bound to it, which became known as Sirius B. Sirius B is 10,000 dimmer than its companion star and can not be seen by the naked eye. It is a dwarf star which is the last stage of visibility before it turns into a black dwarf star.
The top 10 brightest stars in the night sky.
The night sky is full of bright stars. The following ten stars are the brightest that can be seen from Earth in the night sky.
Sirius A (Alpha Canis Majoris)
Sirius A is located in the constellation Canis Major with an apparent magnitude of -1.5 and 8 light-years away from Earth. It can be seen from anywhere on our planet.
Canopus (Alpha Carinae)
Canopus is located in the constellation Carina and has a magnitude of -0.72, 309.8 light-years away from Earth. It is visible from the Northern Hemisphere.
Rigil Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri
Rigil Kentaurus is located in the constellation Centaurus and has a magnitude of -0.29, 4.36 light-years away from Earth. Rigil Kentaurus is visible from the Southern Hemisphere.
Arcturus (Alpha Bootis)
Archturus is located in the constellation Bootes with an apparent magnitude of -0.04, 37 light-years away. It can be seen from the Northern Hemisphere.
Vega (Alpha Lyrae)
Vega is located in the Lyra constellation with a magnitude of +0.03, 25.5 light-years away from Earth. Vega is visible from the Northern Hemisphere.
Capella (Alpha Aurigae)
Capella is located in the Auriga constellation and has an apparent magnitude of +0.08, 42 light-years away from Earth. It is visible from the Northern Hemisphere.
Rigel (Beta Orionis)
Rigel is located in the constellation Orion and has an apparent magnitude of +0.18, 860 light-years away from Earth. You can see it from the Southern Hemisphere.
Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris)
Procyon is located in the Canis Minor constellation and has a magnitude of +0.34, 11.45 light-years away from Earth. It can be seen from the Northern Hemisphere.
Achernar (Alpha Eridani)
Achernar is located in the Eridanus constellation and has an apparent magnitude of +0.445, 114 light-years away from Earth. It is visible from the Southern Hemisphere.
Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis)
Betelgeuse is located in the constellation Orion with a magnitude of +0.42, 640 light-years away from Earth. It can be viewed from the Northern Hemisphere.
