It’s nice to look at the sky not only for complete romantics and meticulous scientists. Every person from time to time likes to watch one of the most beautiful phenomena of our universe - bright stars. And therefore, it will be interesting to everyone to find out which luminaries differ in the greatest radiance.
Sirius
Without a doubt, the brightest star in the night sky is Sirius. She takes first place in her radiance. It is located in the constellation Canis Major and is well observed in the Northern Hemisphere in winter. Residents of the Southern Hemisphere can see it in the summer months, north of the Arctic Circle. Sirius is located approximately 8.6 light years from the Sun and is one of the brightest stars closest to us.
The luster of Sirius is a consequence of the proximity of the star to the solar system. It is one of the favorite objects for observation by amateur astronomers. The magnitude of Sirius is 1.46 m .
Sirius is the brightest northern star. As early as the 19th century, astronomers noticed that its trajectory, although it is direct, is still subject to periodic fluctuations. Astronomers began to suspect that a certain hidden star orbiting Sirius with a period of about 50 years was responsible for these deviations of the trajectory. After 18 years after this bold assumption, a small asterisk 8.4 m in size belonging to the category of white dwarfs was found near Sirius.
Canopus
For the first time about what the brightest star in the sky, the ancient Greek scientist Hipparchus began to think. Its classification was proposed 22 centuries ago. Hipparchus was the first to divide the luminaries according to their brilliance into 6 quantities. The two brightest - Sirius and Canopus - minus the first magnitude. Canopus ranks second in brightness after Sirius, but much less is known. Apparently, for the reason that it is best observed from the Southern Hemisphere. From the northern territories, Canopus is observed only in subtropical latitudes.
For example, in Europe it is noticeable only from the south of Greece, and in the countries of the former USSR, only residents of Turkmenistan can admire it. The astronomers of Australia and New Zealand were most fortunate in this regard. Here Canopus can be observed throughout the year.
According to scientists, Canopus luminosity is 15,000 times higher than solar, which is a huge indicator. This star played a large role in navigation.
Currently, Canopus is a white supergiant located at a considerable distance from the Earth - about 310 light years, or 2.96 quadrillion kilometers.
Vega
Looking at the sky on warm summer evenings, you can see a bright bluish-white point. This is Vega - one of the brightest stars in the sky, visible only in the Northern Hemisphere.
Vega is not only the main one in the constellation Lyra. She is the main luminary throughout the summer months. It is very convenient to observe from the Northern Hemisphere due to its location. From the end of spring to the middle of autumn, she is the most visible luminary.
As with many other stars, Vega is associated with many ancient legends. For example, in the Far East there is a legend that Vega is a princess who fell in love with a simple person (whom the star Altair represents in the sky). The girl’s father, having found out about this, was angry, forbidding her to see an ordinary mortal. And in fact, Vega is separated from Altair by the foggy Milky Way. Only once a year, according to legend, thousands of forty form a heavenly bridge with their wings, and lovers have the opportunity to reunite. Later, the princess’s tears shed on the ground - so the legend explains the meteor shower from the Perseid stream.
Vega is 2 times heavier than the Sun. The luminosity of the star is 37 times greater than the solar. Vega has such a huge mass that it will exist in its present state of a white star for another 1 billion years.
Arcturus
It is one of the brightest stars that can be observed from almost anywhere in the world. In intensity it is second only to Sirius, Canopus, and also to the double luminary Alpha Centauri. The star is 110 times brighter than the Sun. Located in the constellation Bootes.
Unusual legend
The name Arcturus owes the constellation Ursa Major. Translated from ancient Greek, the word "arcturus" means "guard of the bear." According to the myth, Zeus put him in his place so that he would guard the nymph Callisto, who was turned by the goddess Hero into a bear. In Arabic, Arcturus is called differently - "Haris-as-sama", which means "guardian of heaven."
In the northern latitudes, the star can be observed all year round.
Alpha Centauri
Another of the brightest stars known to astronomers since ancient times is Alpha Centauri. She is part of the constellation Centaurus. However, in reality this is not one star - it includes three components: the luminaries of Centaurus A (also known as Toliman), Centaurus B and the red dwarf Proxima Centauri.
By its age, Alpha Centauri is 2 billion years older than our solar system - this group has about 6 billion years of light, while the Sun is only 4.5. The characteristics of these luminaries are as approximate as possible.
If you look at Alpha Centauri without special equipment, it is impossible to distinguish the star A from B - it is thanks to this union that an impressive star shine is achieved. However, it is worth arming yourself with an ordinary telescope, as a small distance between two celestial bodies becomes noticeable. The light emitted by luminaries reaches our planet in 4.3 years. With a modern spaceship, you can get to Alpha Centauri in 1.1 million years, so in the near future this is hardly possible. In the summer, the star can be seen in Florida, Texas, Mexico.
Betelgeuse
This star belongs to the category of red supergiants. The mass of Betelgeuse, or Alpha Orion, is about 13-17 solar masses, and its radius is 1200 times greater than the solar one.
Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It is 530 light-years distant from Earth. Its luminosity is 140,000 times higher than that of the sun.
This red supergiant is by far one of the largest and brightest stars. If Betelgeuse was in the central part of the solar system, then its surface would absorb several planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Betelgeuse is estimated to be only about 10 million years old. Now the star is at a late stage of its evolution, and scientists suggest that in the next few million years it will explode and turn into a supernova.
Procyon
The Procyon Star is one of the brightest stars. Is an alpha of the Small Dog. In fact, Procyon consists of two luminaries - the second is called Gomez. Both of them can be observed without additional optics. The origin of the name "Procyon" is also very interesting. It was based on long observation of the starry sky. Literally translated this word as "before the Dog", and a more literary translation sounds like "harbinger of a dog." Arab peoples called Procyon "Sirius, shedding tears." All these names have a direct connection with Sirius, who was worshiped by many ancient peoples. It is not surprising that over time, stargazers and priests discovered a harbinger of Sirius appearing in the sky - Procyon. He appears in the sky 40 minutes earlier, as if running ahead. If you depict the constellation Canis Minor in the figure, it turns out that Procyon is in his hind legs.
The star is located very close to the Earth - of course, this distance can be called small only by cosmic standards. It is separated from us by 11.41 light years. It moves towards the solar system at a tremendous speed of 4500 m per second. Procyon shines like 8 of our Suns, and its radius is no less than 1.9 of the radius of our star.
Astronomers attribute it to the category of subgiant stars. By the brightness of the glow, scientists concluded that a nuclear reaction between hydrogen and helium in its bowels no longer occurs. Scientists are convinced that the process of star expansion has already begun. After a very long time, Procyon will turn into a red giant.
Polar - the brightest star of the Bear
This luminary is very unusual. First of all, it is worth noting the fact that it is closer to the north pole of the planet. And due to the diurnal rotation of the Earth, the stars move, as it were, around the North Star. For this reason, it is often called the North. As for the South Pole, there are no such luminaries near it. In ancient times, the axis of the planet was directed to another sphere of the sky, and Vega took the place of the North star.
Those who are interested in what is the brightest star in the horizon observed from the Northern Hemisphere should know: The Polar one cannot be called such. However, it is easy to find it if you extend the line connecting the two luminaries of the Big Dipper bucket. Polaris is the latest star in the handle of the bucket of the neighbor of this constellation, Ursa Minor. The brightest star of this cluster is also this star.
The Ursa Major is also of interest to astronomers. It is easy to see due to the shape of the bucket, clearly distinguishable in the sky. The brightest star in the constellation is Aliot. In reference books, it is indicated by the letter epsilon, and it occupies the 31st place in brightness among all visible luminaries.
Currently, as in the days of ancient astronomers, an ordinary person can observe stars from the surface of the earth. However, it is quite possible that our great-grandchildren will be able to go to the brightest luminaries and find out much more interesting and entertaining information about them.