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 for everyone to find out which luminaries are distinguished by the greatest radiance.
Sirius
Without a doubt, the brightest star in the night sky is Sirius. She ranks first in her brilliance. 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 during 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 brilliance 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 1.46m.
Sirius is the brightest northern star. As early as the 19th century, astronomers noticed that its trajectory, although it is straight, is still subject to periodic fluctuations. Astronomers began to suspect that some hidden star, rotating around Sirius with a period of about 50 years, was responsible for these deviations in the trajectory. Eighteen years after this bold assumption, a small star of magnitude 8.4m,was found near Siriusbelonging to the category of white dwarfs.
Canopus
For the first time, the ancient Greek scientist Hipparchus began to think about what is the brightest star in the sky. Its classification was proposed 22 centuries ago. Hipparchus was the first to divide the luminaries according to their brightness into 6 magnitudes. The two brightest - Sirius and Canopus - minus the first magnitude. Canopus is second in brightness after Sirius, but is much less 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 the most fortunate in this respect. Here Canopus can be observed throughout the year.
According to scientists, the luminosity of Canopus is 15,000 times higher than the sun, which is a huge indicator. This star played a big role in navigation.
Currently, Canopus is a white supergiant, located at a considerable distance from Earth - about 310 light-years, or 2.96 quadrillion kilometers.
Vega
Looking at the sky on warm summer evenings, you can see a brightbluish white dot. 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 until mid-autumn, she is the most visible luminary.
As with many other stars, many ancient legends are associated with Vega. For example, in the Far East there is a legend that Vega is a princess who fell in love with a simple person (who is represented in the sky by the star Altair). The girl's father, having learned about this, was angry, forbidding her to see an ordinary mortal. And in fact, Vega is separated from Altair by the hazy Milky Way. Only once a year, according to legend, forty thousand form a heavenly bridge with their wings, and lovers have the opportunity to reunite. Later, the tears of the princess are shed on the ground - this is how the legend explains the meteor shower from the Perseid shower.
Vega is twice as heavy as the Sun. The luminosity of the star is 37 times that of the sun. Vega has such a huge mass that it will exist in its current state as a white star for another 1 billion years.
Arcturus
Is one of the brightest stars that can be observed from almost anywhere on Earth. In intensity it is second only to Sirius, Canopus, and also to the double luminary Alpha Centauri. A star is 110 times brighter than the Sun. Located in the constellation Bootes.
Unusuallegend
Arcturus owes its name to the constellation Ursa Major. Translated from ancient Greek, the word "arcturus" means "guardian of the bear." According to the myth, Zeus settled him in place so that he would guard the nymph Callisto, who was turned into a bear by the goddess Hera. 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. It 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), Centauri B and the red dwarf Proxima Centauri.
In terms of age, Alpha Centauri is 2 billion years older than our solar system - this group of stars is about 6 billion years old, while the Sun is only 4.5 years old. The characteristics of these stars are as close as possible.
If you look at Alpha Centauri without special equipment, then it is impossible to distinguish the star A from B - it is thanks to this union that the impressive radiance of the star 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 the luminaries reaches our planet in 4.3 years. On a modern spacecraft, you can get to Alpha Centauri in 1.1 million years, so in the near future thishardly possible. In summer, the luminary can be seen in Florida, Texas, Mexico.
Betelgeuse
This luminary 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 away from Earth. Its luminosity is 140,000 times higher than that of the Sun.
This red supergiant is one of the largest and brightest stars today. If Betelgeuse were in the central part of the solar system, then its surface would absorb several planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. It is assumed that the age of Betelgeuse is only about 10 million years. 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
Star Procyon is one of the brightest stars. It is the alpha of Canis Minor. In fact, Procyon consists of two luminaries - the second is called Gomeiza. Both of them can be observed without additional optics. The origin of the name "Procyon" is also very interesting. It was based on long-term observation of the starry sky. This word is literally translated as “before the Dog”, and a more literary translation sounds like “the harbinger of the dog”. The Arab peoples called Procyon "Sirius shedding tears." All these names have a direct connection with Sirius, who was worshiped by manyancient peoples. It is not surprising that over time, astrologers and priests discovered the harbinger of Sirius appearing in the sky - Procyon. It appears in the sky 40 minutes earlier, as if running ahead. If you depict the constellation Canis Minor in the picture, it turns out that Procyon is in his hind legs.
The star is located very close to the Earth - of course, this distance can only be called small by cosmic standards. It is separated from us by 11.41 light years. It is moving towards the solar system at a tremendous speed - 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 classify it as a subgiant star. According to the brightness of the glow, scientists concluded that a nuclear reaction between hydrogen and helium in its depths is no longer taking place. Scientists are convinced that the expansion process of the star has already begun. After a very long time, Procyon will turn into a red giant.
Polar - the brightest star of Ursa
This luminary is very unusual. First of all, the fact that it is closer than others to the north pole of the planet is worth attention. And due to the daily rotation of the Earth, the stars move, as it were, around the Polar Star. For this reason, it is often called Northern. 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 the place of the North Star was occupied by Vega.
Those whothose who are interested in what is the brightest star in the sky, observed from the Northern Hemisphere, should know: Polaris cannot be called such. However, it is easy to find it if you extend the line connecting the two luminaries of the Ursa Major bucket. Polaris is the very last star in the bucket handle of this constellation's neighbor, Ursa Minor. The brightest star in this cluster is also this star.
The Big Dipper is also of interest to astronomers. It is easy to see due to the shape of the bucket, which is clearly visible in the sky. The brightest star in the constellation is Alioth. In reference books, it is designated with the letter epsilon, and it ranks 31st in brightness among all visible luminaries.
Today, as in the days of ancient astronomers, the average person can observe the 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 learn much more interesting and entertaining information about them.
