The Brightest Stars
By Armando Caussade.Copyright © 1998-2004 Armando Caussade. All rights reserved.
The list below includes 22 stars, all those brighter than apparent magnitude 1.50. These are commonly known as first magnitude stars. The following data is included:
- Rank. The star's rank, according to its visual magnitude.
- Star Name. The star's proper name.
- Bayer Designation. The star's designation according to Bayer's Uranometria (1603). The brightest star in a constellation is usually designated as a, the second brightest as b, and so on.
- V The star's apparent visual magnitude, based on photoelectric measurements. A "v" next to a magnitude figure indicates variability. Stellar magnitudes have been taken from Robert F. Garrison, The Observer's Handbook 1996, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
- Spectrum. The star's spectral classification, according to the Morgan, Keenan and Kellman (MK) classification system. Spectral types correspond roughly to a star's color: O-blue, B-blue, A-white, F-white to yellow, G-yellow, K-orange and M-red. These spectral types are from Robert F. Garrison, The Observer's Handbook 1996, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
- a 2000 and d 2000. The star's right ascension and declination, according to the Julian equinox for the year 2000 (J2000.0). These coordinates have been adapted from Alan Hirshfeld, Roger W. Sinnott, Sky Catalogue 2000.0 Volume 1 (1st ed.), Sky Publishing Corporation and Cambridge University Press.
| Rank | Name | Bayer Designation | V | Spectrum | a 2000 h m |
d 2000 ° ' |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| --- | Sun | --- | –26.75 | G2 V | --- | --- |
| 1 | Sirius | a Canis Majoris | –1.46 | A1 Va | 6 45.1 | –16 43 |
| 2 | Canopus | a Carinae | –0.72 | A9 II | 6 24.0 | –52 42 |
| 3 | Rigil Kentaurus | a Centauri | –0.29 | G2 V | 14 39.6 | –60 50 |
| 4 | Arcturus | a Boötis | –0.04 | K1.5 III | 14 15.7 | +19 11 |
| 5 | Vega | a Lirae | 0.03 | A0 Va | 18 36.9 | +38 47 |
| 6 | Capella | a Aurigae | 0.08 | G6 III | 5 16.7 | +46 00 |
| 7 | Rigel | b Orionis | 0.12 | B8 Ia | 5 14.5 | –8 12 |
| 8 | Procyon | a Canis Minoris | 0.38 | F5 IV-V | 7 39.3 | +5 14 |
| 9 | Achernar | a Eridani | 0.46 | B3 Vnp | 1 37.7 | –57 14 |
| 10 | Betelgeuse | a Orionis | v0.50 | M2 Iab | 5 55.2 | +7 24 |
| 11 | Agena/Hadar | b Centauri | v0.61 | B1 III | 14 03.8 | –60 22 |
| 12 | Acrux | a Crucis | 0.76 | B0.5 IV | 12 26.6 | –63 06 |
| 13 | Altair | a Aquilae | 0.77 | A7 Vnn | 19 50.8 | +8 52 |
| 14 | Aldebaran | a Tauri | v0.85 | K5 III | 4 35.9 | +16 31 |
| 15 | Antares | a Scorpii | v0.94 | M1.5 Iab | 16 29.4 | –26 26 |
| 16 | Spica | a Virginis | 0.98 | B1 V | 13 25.2 | –11 10 |
| 17 | Pollux | b Geminorum | 1.14 | K0 IIIb | 7 45.3 | +28 02 |
| 18 | Fomalhaut | a Piscis Austrini | 1.16 | A3 Va | 22 57.6 | –29 37 |
| 19 | Deneb | a Cygni | 1.25 | A2 Ia | 20 41.4 | +45 17 |
| 20 | Mimosa | b Crucis | v1.27 | B0.5 III | 12 47.7 | –59 41 |
| 21 | Regulus | a Leonis | 1.35 | B7 Vn | 10 08.4 | +11 58 |
| 22 | Adhara | e Canis Majoris | 1.50 | B2 II | 6 58.6 | –28 58 |
Webmaster: Armando Caussade —
Uploaded: March 16, 2001
Revised: August 22, 2004
Armando Caussade Home Page >> Amateur Astronomy >> The Brightest Stars