brightest star | EarthSky

Group of stars, long pointed oblong, with a bright star at its narrow end labeled Arcturus.

Arcturus, brightest star of the northern sky

Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern half of the sky. It's easy to find in spring in the Northern Hemisphere near the handle of the Big Dipper.

Star chart: animal-shaped constellation with head at right side and bright star, Regulus, in chest area.

Meet Regulus, Leo the Lion’s Heart and brightest star

The bright star Regulus in Leo the Lion is prominent in the evening sky in May. It looks like a single point of light, but is really 4 stars.

Kite-shaped constellation with bright blue-white star at bottom, and 4 other stars in Lyra marked.

Blue-white Vega is the sky’s 5th-brightest star

The blue star Vega is the brightest light in the distinctive constellation Lyra the Harp. Vega is easy to spot in May by looking northeast in the evening.

Sky chart: Animal-shaped constellation with Regulus labeled and Alphard at lower right.

Lonely Alphard is the brightest star in Hydra

Alphard is the "heart" and brightest star in the constellation Hydra the Water Snake, and it represents a welcome sign of spring for the Northern Hemisphere.

Constellation Orion (looks like an hourglass), bright star Sirius to the left and star Canopus next to horizon.

Can you see Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star?

Here's how to spot Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star in the sky as seen from Earth, on February evenings. It’s located far south on the sky’s dome.

Wide array of bright but slightly fuzzy stars, mostly blue-white but one reddish, over dark landscape.

See Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky

Sirius is the brightest star as seen from Earth and is visible from both hemispheres. It lies just 8.6 light-years away, in the constellation Canis Major.

A large, bright, blue-white star in a field of many stars.

Blue-white Rigel is Orion’s brightest star

Blue-white Rigel shines as the brightest star in the constellation Orion the Hunter. It's a hot massive star, that someday will explode as a supernova.

Star chart showing the constellation Auriga with Capella, 2 other stars, and 3 Messier objects labeled.

Capella is one of the sky’s brightest stars

The 6th-brightest star in the night sky, Capella, in the Northern Hemisphere constellation Auriga the Charioteer, is also a point of the Winter Hexagon.

Star chart with Orion and arrow from 3-star Belt to lone star Sirius below.

See brightest star, Sirius, in your morning sky

Out late at night or before dawn? Look for the sky's brightest star, Sirius, a brilliant beauty. You'll know it's Sirius if you see Orion's Belt pointing to it.

Star chart: 4 labeled stars at ends of cross arms and small dots for a labeled star cluster.

Acrux is the brightest star in the Southern Cross

Acrux, also called Alpha Crucis, is the brightest star in the constellation Crux, the Southern Cross. And it is not 1, but 2 stars.

Star chart showing constellation Orion with Rigel, Betelgeuse and Bellatrix marked.

Bellatrix is Orion’s 3rd-brightest star

Orion's shoulder star Bellatrix has a name that means "female warrior." Bellatrix is one of the hottest stars you can see without optical aid.

Diagram of constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus with arrow from one to the other and bright stars labeled.

Mirfak is the brightest star in Perseus the Hero

Mirfak is the brightest star in Perseus and is visible even from light-polluted locations. This star is a member of the Alpha Persei Moving Cluster of stars.

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Venus, Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster in the east before dawn.

Venus brightest, near star Aldebaran, around July 10

Even though - as seen from Earth - Venus appears only slightly more than 1/4 illuminated on July 10, 2020, it is nonetheless shining at its brightest in our morning sky! Look east before sunup for Venus. The bright star nearby is Aldebaran.

Brightest galaxy and first-generation stars

The newly found galaxy, labelled CR7, is three times brighter than the brightest distant galaxy known up to now. It may contain some of the first stars.

Sky chart showing Venus right next to Jupiter, with Mercury below, with WOW written next to them.

Venus-Jupiter conjunction: Sky’s 2 brightest planets to meet

Get ready for a spectacular Venus-Jupiter conjunction! You can already start watching the planets after sunset. The big event happens on June 8 and 9.

A piece of the HR diagram, showing giant and supergiant stars.

Deneb is an incredibly distant star. But how do we know?

The star Deneb - part of the Summer Triangle - is one of the most distant stars you can see with your eye alone. But why don't we know its distance precisely?

Meet Mimosa, a star of the Southern Cross

Mimosa is the 2nd-brightest star in Crux, the Southern Cross. It's circumpolar - up all night - from much of the Southern Hemisphere.

Two glowing balls near each other and surrounded by an aura of light.

Spica, the bright beacon of Virgo, is 2 stars

Spica is the brightest star in Virgo and a scorching-hot pair of stars, whirling very closely around one another. One of them may go supernova someday.

loudy band of Milky Way arching over desert hills and tower-like rock formations.

Which moon phase is best for stargazing? That depends.

Which moon phase is best for stargazing? Most astronomers would tell you that the best moon is no moon. But it depends on what you want to see.

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Arcturus, brightest star of the northern sky

Meet Regulus, Leo the Lion’s Heart and brightest star

Blue-white Vega is the sky’s 5th-brightest star

Lonely Alphard is the brightest star in Hydra

Can you see Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star?

See Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky

Blue-white Rigel is Orion’s brightest star

Capella is one of the sky’s brightest stars

See brightest star, Sirius, in your morning sky

Acrux is the brightest star in the Southern Cross

Bellatrix is Orion’s 3rd-brightest star

Mirfak is the brightest star in Perseus the Hero

brightest-stars

Venus brightest, near star Aldebaran, around July 10

Brightest galaxy and first-generation stars

Venus-Jupiter conjunction: Sky’s 2 brightest planets to meet

Deneb is an incredibly distant star. But how do we know?

Meet Mimosa, a star of the Southern Cross

Spica, the bright beacon of Virgo, is 2 stars

Which moon phase is best for stargazing? That depends.