The Brightest Stars

 Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. At magnitude -1.46 (the lower the number, the brighter
the object), it outshines all other stars handily. Found in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog, Sirius is
sometimes called the Dog Star. It lies a relatively close 8.6 light-years from Earth, contributing to its brightness.
Canopus is the second brightest star in the night sky and lies in the southern constellation of Carina,
shining at magnitude -0.72. It lies 74 light-years from Earth.
 Rigil Kentaurus, also known as Alpha Centauri (the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus), is
the closest star to the Sun at 4.3 light-years distant. It is in fact a triple star system, with its combined light
shining at magnitude -0.27.
 Arcturus is an orange giant that shines at -0.04 magnitude in the constellation Bootes. It lies 34
light-years from Earth.
 Vega is the brightest star in Lyra and one of the three corners in the Summer Triangle. At magnitude
0.03, it lies 25 light-years from Earth.
 Capella is a magnitude 0.08 star in the constellation Auriga. It is a binary star that lies 41 light-years
distant.
 Rigel is a blue-white supergiant that makes up the lower right corner of the constellation Orion.
Rigel shines at magnitude 0.12 and its distance is still uncertain but can be said to be approximately 800 light-
years from Earth.
 Procyon is a bright star in Canis Minor, the Little Dog. It lies 11.4 light-years away at a magnitude
of 0.38.
 Achernar is the brighest star in the constellation Eridanus at magnitude 0.46. It lies 69 light-years
away.
 Betelgeuse is a red supergiant and the second brightest star in the constellation Orion, anchoring the
opposite corner of the constellation as Rigel. It is a variable star, which means it changes in brightness, and
therefore estimates of its magnitude. 0.5 is a common measurement. It is estimated to lie between 400 and 500
light-years away.
 Hadar is the second brightest star in Centaurus. Another variable star, its magnitude is around 0.61
and it lies 320 light-years away.
 Altair is in the constellation Aquila the Eagle and marks another corner of the Summer Triangle. At
magnitude 0.77 it lies 16 light-years from Earth. Altair is slightly flattened from its rapid spinning.
 Acrux is a double star in the constellation Crux. At magnitude 0.79, it lies 510 light-years from
Earth.
 Aldebaran is the brightest star in Taurus the Bull, and denotes the "bull's eye". It is a variable star
with an approximate magnitude of 0.85, lying 60 light-years from Earth.
 Antares is a variable red supergiant whose hue gave it a name which means "rival of Mars" (anti-
Ares). It lies in the constellation Scorpius at 520-600 light-years distance and shines with a magnitude of 0.96.
 Spica is the brightest star in Virgo at magnitude 0.98. It is a double star and lies 220 light-years from
Earth.
 Pollux is the brighter of the two twins in Gemini at magnitude 0.98. (The other twin is Castor.)
Pollux shines at magnitude 1.14 and lies 35 light-years from Earth.
 Fomalhaut lies in the southern constellation of Piscis Austrinus (the Southern Fish). At magnitude
1.16, it lies 22 light-years from Earth.
 Deneb is the last corner of the Summer Triangle, residing in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. At
magnitude 1.25, Deneb's distance is debated, but it lies somewhere between a whopping 1500 and 3000 light-
years from Earth. Becrux is tied for 19th place. This star lies in the southern constellation Crux. It is a variable
but its magnitude is also estimated at 1.25. It lies 460 light-years from Earth.
 Regulus is in Leo the Lion. Its name means "Little King." It lies 69 light-years away and shines at
magnitude 1.35.
Tulabing, Anica C.

Population I star

• Younger stars, generally formed towards the edge of a galaxy, of the dusty material in the spiral arms,
including the heavy elements. The brightest of this Population are hot, white stars.
• Young star with relatively high abundances of metals, and are usually found in the disk of a galaxy,
especially the spiral arms, in dense regions of interstellar gas
• Young star typical of those found in galaxy spiral arms
• Youngest observed stars, like our sun, formed from hydrogen, helium, and a large range of heavier
elements (like carbon and oxygen) believed to have been created in the interiors of earlier Population II
stars and Population III stars and then blown out into space.

Population II star

• are metal poor stars, containing about 0.1% metals. These stars can be found in the spherical portion of
the galaxy (the halo and the bulge). Often these stars have tipped and elliptical orbits. These stars are
relatively old, aged from 2 - 14 billion years. Extreme Population II stars (the most metal poor) are
found in the halo and the globular clusters and are the oldest stars. Intermediate Population II stars are
located in the bludge and are slightly more metal rich than the extreme Population II stars, but are still
far less metal rich than the intermediate Population I stars.

• The difference in metal content and age between Population I stars and Population II stars suggests that
Population II stars formed early during the formation of the galaxy, when the galaxy contained nearly
pure hydrogen and helium. As the Population II stars evolved, they produce metals through fusion.
Stellar winds and novae carried these metals into the galaxy. Hence, the younger stars would be metal
rich before fusion began.

Population III stars

• would have soon exhausted their fuel and exploded in extremely energetic pair-instability supernovae.
Those explosions would have thoroughly dispersed their material, ejecting metals throughout the
universe to be incorporated into the later generations of stars that are observed today. The high mass of
the first stars is used to explain why, as of 2010, no Population III stars have been observed. Because
they were all destroyed in supernovae in the early universe, Population III stars should only be seen in
far away galaxies whose light originated much earlier in the history of the universe, and searching for
these stars or establishing their nonexistence (thereby invalidating the current model) is an active area of
research in astronomy. Stars too massive to produce pair-instability supernovae would have collapsed
into black holes through a process known as photodisintegration, but some matter escapes from black
holes in the form of relativistic jets, and this could have "sprayed" the first metals into the universe.