This chart ranks the brightest stars in Earth's night sky by apparent magnitude. On this scale, lower and more negative numbers mean a brighter star. Sirius is the brightest star visible from Earth.

About: Brightest Stars in the Night Sky

Overview of the data behind this chart

This chart ranks the brightest stars in Earth's night sky by apparent magnitude. On this scale, lower and more negative numbers mean a brighter star. Sirius is the brightest star visible from Earth.

AI Insight

Sirius shines at apparent magnitude -1.46, making it by far the brightest star in the night sky, nearly a full magnitude brighter than runner-up Canopus (-0.74). The magnitude scale is inverted and logarithmic, so each step of one magnitude means roughly 2.5 times the brightness; Sirius therefore appears about twice as bright as Canopus. Alpha Centauri (-0.27) and Arcturus (-0.05) complete the four stars brighter than magnitude zero. From Vega (0.03) downward the values cluster closely, showing how many familiar stars sit near the same brightness. Betelgeuse (0.50) closes this top ten, though as a variable star its brightness noticeably fluctuates over time. A star's apparent brightness reflects both its true luminosity and its distance from Earth, which is why nearby modest stars can outshine distant giants.

Data source: List of brightest stars

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Betelgeuse leads with 1 in All Time.

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Average value in All Time: 0 · median: 0.

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Additional Data

Brightest Stars in the Night Sky

Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

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Data Points

10 categories · 1 year

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Top Value

0.50

Betelgeuse

Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) · All Time

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Metrics

Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)

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Period

All Time

Single year snapshot

Category Rankings

Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) · All Time

#	Category	All Time
🥇	Betelgeuse	0.50
🥈	Achernar	0.46
🥉	Procyon	0.34
4	Rigel	0.13
5	Capella	0.08
6	Vega	0.03
7	Arcturus	-0.05
8	Alpha Centauri	-0.27
9	Canopus	-0.74
10	Sirius	-1.46

Statistical Summary — Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) · All Time

0.50

Maximum

0.03

Minimum

Average

Median

What This Data Shows

Auto-generated trend summaries per category

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Sirius

Recorded -1.46 Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) in All Time.

Source

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Canopus

Recorded -0.74 Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) in All Time.

Source

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Alpha Centauri

Recorded -0.27 Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) in All Time.

Source

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Arcturus

Recorded -0.05 Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) in All Time.

Source

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Vega

Recorded 0.03 Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) in All Time.

Source

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Capella

Recorded 0.08 Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) in All Time.

Source

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Rigel

Recorded 0.13 Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) in All Time.

Source

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Procyon

Recorded 0.34 Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) in All Time.

Source

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Achernar

Recorded 0.46 Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) in All Time.

Source

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Betelgeuse

Recorded 0.50 Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter) in All Time.

Source

Full Data Table

10 records across 1 year

10 sourced

Category	Metric	All Time
Sirius	Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)	-1.46
Canopus	Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)	-0.74
Alpha Centauri	Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)	-0.27
Arcturus	Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)	-0.05
Vega	Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)	0.03
Capella	Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)	0.08
Rigel	Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)	0.13
Procyon	Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)	0.34
Achernar	Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)	0.46
Betelgeuse	Apparent Magnitude (lower is brighter)	0.50