what's the brightest star in the sky?

Answer 1

It depends on what part of the world you are in. You see different things in different hemispheres.

Answer 2

In apparent brightness:
The Sun
(trick answer)

In the night sky, Venus would be if you accept the old definition (aster planetes = wandering star). However, the modern definition makes Venus a planet. A star is something that generates its own light. Venus reflects the light it receives from the Sun.

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. It appears almost 6 times brighter than Betelgeuse in Orion.

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True brightness?

The Sun and Sirius appear bright because they are (relatively) close.
Astronomers have devised an Absolute Magnitude scale that show how bright stars would look if they were all at the same distance from us. They chose 10 parsec as the standard distance (approx. 32.6 light-years).

Of the stars that we can see in the night sky, Rigel (in Orion) a blue giant is probably the brightest. If it were at the standard distance, it would be as bright as the half moon (while our sun, at the same standard distance, would be barely noticeable).

The brightest star in the Milky Way is called Eta Carinae. Some believe that it is "on the verge" of exploding (within 100,000 years?).

Although something is visible to the eye at that position, we do not see the star directly, but the nebulosity surrounding the star. It is as bright (with the eye) as an average star of the Big Dipper. But at the standard distance, it is almost 11 times brighter than Rigel.

Quasars (Quasi-stellar objects) are not technically stars. They are the cores of very active galaxies, very far away. They shine with the luminosity of entire galaxies (billions of stars). They would be the brightest objects in the universe.
They are so far that they cannot be seen with naked eye.

Answer 3

Sirius, the Dog Star is the brightest star. It is best seen in the winter. The brightest star-like object is the planet Venus, now visible in the west shortly after sunset.

Answer 4

The Sun.
If you mean the night sky, Sirius.
That bright star in the west just now is Venus. It looks like a bright star, but is really a planet.

Answer 5

1. Venus is not a star.

I think that Sirius is the brightest but I somehow remember that Beetleguice (spelling?) might be right up there on the brightness scale...

Answer 6

Sirius

Answer 7

Sirius...part of the constellation Canis Major
There are planets that are brighter though..such as Venus, & Mars.

Answer 8

The Sun!.. Sirius is the second.

Answer 9

Isn't Betelgeuse brighter than Rigel. It appears so to my naked eye.

Answer 10

Venus.