# The brightest stars in the night sky

The top 19 stars of the night sky by brightness as seen from Earth (apparent magnitude), from Wikipedia's list. Distances in light years.

- 0 votes · 19 items
- Nov 5, 2021 · Daiki Watanabe
- https://even.best/en/l/623/the-brightest-stars-in-the-night-sky

## Top 15

1. **Sirius** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Canis Majoris. Apparent magnitude −1.46, 8.6 light years away. The brightest star in the night sky after the Sun.
2. **Canopus** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Carinae. Apparent magnitude −0.74, 310 light years away. From Japan it only appears low on the southern horizon.
3. **Alpha Centauri** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Centauri. Apparent magnitude −0.27, 4.34 light years away. The closest star system to the Solar System.
4. **Arcturus** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Boötis. Apparent magnitude −0.05, 37 light years away. The brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere.
5. **Vega** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Lyrae. Apparent magnitude 0.03, 25 light years away. The weaver star of the Tanabata festival.
6. **Capella** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Aurigae. Apparent magnitude 0.08, 43 light years away.
7. **Rigel** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Beta Orionis. Apparent magnitude 0.13, 860 light years away. The blue-white supergiant of Orion.
8. **Procyon** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Canis Minoris. Apparent magnitude 0.34, 11 light years away. Part of the Winter Triangle.
9. **Achernar** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Eridani. Apparent magnitude 0.46, 140 light years away.
10. **Betelgeuse** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Orionis. Apparent magnitude 0.50 (variable), 640 light years away. A red supergiant whose brightness varies a lot (0.0 to 1.6).
11. **Hadar** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Beta Centauri. Apparent magnitude 0.61, 390 light years away.
12. **Altair** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Aquilae. Apparent magnitude 0.76, 17 light years away. The cowherd star of Tanabata, part of the Summer Triangle.
13. **Acrux** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Crucis. Apparent magnitude 0.76, 320 light years away. The brightest star of the Southern Cross.
14. **Aldebaran** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Tauri. Apparent magnitude 0.86, 65 light years away. The red eye of Taurus.
15. **Antares** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Scorpii. Apparent magnitude 0.96, 550 light years away. The red heart of the Scorpion.
16. **Spica** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Virginis. Apparent magnitude 0.97, 250 light years away.
17. **Pollux** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Beta Geminorum. Apparent magnitude 1.14, 34 light years away.
18. **Fomalhaut** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Piscis Austrini. Apparent magnitude 1.16, 25 light years away. The lone bright star of the southern autumn sky.
19. **Deneb** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Alpha Cygni. Apparent magnitude 1.25, 2,600 light years away. Part of the Summer Triangle; a very distant supergiant.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.