Note: These are the stars that appear the brightest visually, as seen from our vantage point on Earth. They are not necessarily the stars that are intrinsically the most luminous.
Figure J1The brightest stars typically have names from antiquity. Next to each star's ancient name, we have added a column with its name in the system originated by Bayer (see the Naming Stars feature box.) The distances of the more remote stars are estimated from their spectral types and apparent brightnesses and are only approximate. The luminosities for those stars are approximate to the same degree. Right ascension and declination is given for Epoch 2000.0.
J The Brightest Twenty Stars · Astronomy · Physics Playground
