The Brightest Stars in the Sky: Sirius, Canopus, Alpha Centauri, Vega, Rigel, and Betelgeuse

By: Rangga Septio Wardana and Ristiana D. Putri

KOMPAS.com – The stars that shine at night make the sky look beautiful. Of the many stars in the sky, there are some stars that shine brighter than others.

Like in an audio drama Parents’ Choice Fairy Tales special Bobo 50 Year Edition entitled “Star Princess” The bright light emitted by stars at night allows listeners to enter their imagination. Access this episode via s.id/DopingBobo1.

Launch Space.com, one of the factors that causes some stars to shine brighter is temperature. Stars with hot temperatures tend to produce more light than stars with lower temperatures.

In order, blue stars are the hottest stars, next are white stars, yellow and orange stars, and finally red stars. Here are the stars that shine the brightest in the sky.

1. Sirius

The name ‘Sirius’ comes from Ancient Greek which means ‘bright’ or ‘sparkling’. The star Sirius has the scientific name Alpha Canis Majoris because it is the brightest star (alpha) in the constellation Canis Major.

Sirius is the second closest star system to the Solar System. The distance of Sirius from Earth is about 8.6 light years or about 8.1 trillion kilometers.

Also read: Why is the Sky Blue? Following is the scientific explanation

Sirius is a double star, consisting of Sirius A and B. Sirius A is the brighter and larger main star, while Sirius B is a very dense white dwarf star.

2. Canopus

Canopus is the most conspicuous star in the constellation Carina and one of the largest bright stars after Sirius. Even so, the distance between the star Canopus and Earth is very far, estimated to be around 309 light years.

Canopus is also a double star, consisting of a main star and a companion star. The main star Canopus is a giant star that is much larger than the sun on Earth, with a temperature of around 7,500 degrees Celsius.

3. Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to the Solar System, located about 4.37 light years from Earth. This star consists of two main components, Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B.

Alpha Centauri A is larger, with a diameter 1.2 times larger than the Sun. Meanwhile, Alpha Centauri B is a yellowish orange star that is dimmer than Alpha Centauri A.

4. Vega

Vega is the largest bright star in the northern sky located in the constellation Lyra. This star is also one of the closest to the Solar System, which is about 25 light years from Earth.

Vega is a very bright blue-white star. This color shows the high surface temperature, or around 9,600 degrees Celsius.

5. Rigel

Rigel is one of the largest bright stars in the constellation Orion. Rigel looks whitish blue, this shows its very high surface temperature, which is around 11,000 degrees Celsius.

Rigel is one of the stars with the furthest distance from Earth, which is around 863 light years. However, Rigel is still included in the list of the seven brightest stars with light 10,000 times brighter than the Sun.

6. Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. This supergiant star is red with a distinctive reddish-orange hue. Betelgeuse’s light is estimated to be 14,000 times brighter than the Sun.

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Apart from that, this star is also larger than the Sun, which is around 1.2 billion kilometers.

So, what is the story of the Princess Star who shines brightly in the night sky? Listen to the full episode in audio drama Parents’ Choice Fairy Tales special 50th Edition of Bobo Magazine entitled “Star Princess” with access link s.id/DopingBobo1 from Noice.

Also access the playlist via the link s.id/DopingBobo50Tahun to listen to other episodes that are no less exciting.

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2023-10-27 04:16:00
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