Astronomy Facts

How many astronomy facts can you think of? To count the stars in the universe we need a one followed by 22 zeros. Now realize that many of those stars are surrounded by plants. Then consider the moons that surround the planets, the asteroids, the nebula, the galaxies, and all the other stuff the universe contains. That’s a lot of data and facts and figures. This article, which presents astronomy facts, certainly won’t contain every fact. But it will be a lot of fun.

Let’s take a look at this subset of astronomy facts – the brightest stars as seen from Earth. Let’s ignore the sun, it’s too close. The sun is so bright that it washes out all of the other stars in the daylight sky. Keep in mind that in the scale for the magnitudes given, lower numbers are brighter. In the scale we’ll use the sun is 26.73, and the moon is -12.6. With that in mind, here are the top 5.

#5 is the Arabic word for eagle or vulture, Vega. It’s about 25 light years away from the Earth, with a magnitude of .03. When looking at these astronomy facts remember that brightest from Earth doesn’t mean largest or brightest. Our sun, for example, appears brighter than any other star, even though it’s not one of the brightest in the universe. That’s because it’s so close.

#4 goes to Rigel Kentaurus, or foot of the centaur. It’s about four light years from Earth with a magnitude of -.01.

At #3, by the known astronomy facts is Arcturus. The name means guardian of the bear in Greek. It’s 37 light-years distant from our home on Earth.

#2 is Canopus. Named for the pilots of Jason’s vessel in Jason and the Argonauts, this star is the brightest of all of these top five. But because of its distance, 313 light-years from Earth, it only appears to be second brightest. From earth its magnitude is -.62.

#1 is the Greek word for scorching, Sirius. Because it’s the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, it’s also called the Dog Star.. At only 9 light-years away from Earth it is the second closest in these top five. But from Earth it has a magnitude of -1.44. That makes it easily the brightest star as seen in the night sky.

Astronomy facts go way beyond this. But consider it next time you see the stars in the night sky.