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How many facts are there to be known or learned about all the objects and phenomenon in our entire universe? Just think: there are about 1 x 10 ^22 stars in the universe, that’s 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars; then there are many of those stars that have planets in orbit around them. Then consider the moons that orbit those planets and the comets and asteroids, the galaxies these stars form, the nebulae and black holes and everything else that’s out there. The amount of information and data is really quite mind-boggling. This article definitely will not contain every fact about astronomy, but they are very interesting facts nevertheless.

We will start by taking a look at a small section of astronomy: “the brightest stars seen from the Earth”. That is excepting the Sun which is roughly 250,000 times nearer than the next nearest star. In fact, it is so bright that when the sky is viewed from the Earth, it blinds out all the other stars in the sky during a phenomenon called daytime.

So, keep in mind while reading this list that according to the scale used, lower numbers are brighter. The Sun would be about -26.73, whereas the full moon is -12.6; bearing that in mind, here are the top 5:

#5 is Vega, meaning ” falling eagle” in Arabic. is in Lyra. It’s more or less 25 light years away and has a magnitude of 0.04.

When considering these astronomical facts, please remember that ‘brightest from Earth’ doesn’t mean largest or brightest. The Sun is not the largest or brightest star in the universe or even the galaxy, yet it appears so bright because it is so near compared to other stars.

#4 is Rigel – a very bright, bluish-white supergiant star in the constellation Orion. It is a binary star, with an average apparent magnitude of 0.12. It’s scientific name is Beta Orionis. Rigel is Arabic for ‘foot’. It’s about four light years from Earth.

#3 is Arcturus. The name is Latin/Greek and means ‘guardian of the bear’. This star is roughly 37 light years away. It is in the constellation of Bootes, behind The Great Bear. It has a magnitude of 0.00

#2 Canopus. Of the top five, Canopus, the Greek name for the pilot of the ship Argo in the stories about Jason and the Argonauts, is the brightest, but because it is 313 light years from Earth, it’s only second on this list of the five brightest stars seen from Earth. It has a magnitude of -.62.

#1 is Sirius, which means ’scorching’ in Greek. It’s also called the ‘Dog Star’ because it is the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Major, which means ‘The Big Dog’ in Latin. It is only 9 light years from Earth, which makes it the second closest of these top five. From Earth it has a magnitude of -1.44, which makes it quite easily the brightest star as seen in the night sky.

This information doesn’t even scratch the surface on the subject of astronomy facts but it’s something to consider next time you look into the night sky.

Are you fascinated by Astronomy for Beginners? If you are then, please visait our website at http://astronomy.the-real-way.com

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