List of most luminous stars
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Below is a list of stars in arranged in order of increasing absolute bolometric magnitude (decreasing luminosity). Absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude a star would have if it were 10 parsecs away from us. Absolute bolometric magnitude is a measure of the star's luminosity – the total amount of energy radiated by a star every second.
This list cannot be complete because if a star is far enough away we will not be able to see it, no matter how high its luminosity is. Some other references give very different lists of the most luminous stars (different ordering or different stars altogether). The last set of stars on the list are there for comparison (they are not among the most luminous known).
| Star name | Apparent Visible Magnitude | Absolute Bolometric Magnitude | Luminosity in Solar Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| LBV 1806-20 | 8.6 | −14.2 | 38,000,000 |
| The Pistol Star | −12.3 | 6,500,000 | |
| Cyg OB2-12 | −12.2 | 6,000,000 | |
| HD 93129A | 6.97 | −12.1 | 5,500,000 |
| Eta Carinae | 3.9 to 10.5 | −12.1 | 5,500,000 |
| QPM-241 | −11.9 | 4,600,000 | |
| HDE 319718 | −11.8 | 4,200,000 | |
| S Doradus | 8.6 to 11.8 | −10.1 | 870,000 |
| Zeta Puppis | 2.21 | −10 | 790,000 |
| Rho Cassiopeiae | 4.4 | −9.6 | 550,000 |
| VY Canis Majoris | 7.95 | −9.4 | 450,000[1] |
| Chi2 Orionis | 4.65 | −9.3 | 420,000 |
| HDE 226868 | 8.9 | −9.25 | 390,000 |
| Alnilam | 1.70 | −9.2 | 380,000 |
| KW Sagitarii | −9.17 | 370,000 | |
| V354 Cephei | −9.15 | 360,000 | |
| Mu Cephei | −9.08 | 340,000 | |
| VV Cephei A | −9.0 | 315,000 | |
| KY Cygni | −8.84 | 270,000 | |
| Deneb | 1.25 | −8.73 | 250,000 |
| Theta1 C orionis | 5.13 | −8.6 | 220,000 |
| Omicron2 Canis Majoris | 3.02 | −7.85 | 110,000 |
| Alnitak | 1.79 | −7.8 | 100,000 |
| VV Cephei B | −7.8 | 100,000 | |
| Mintaka | 2.23 | −7.6 | 87,000 |
| Eta Canis Majoris | 2.45 | −7.51 | 80,000 |
| Rigel | 0.12 | −7.3 | 66,000 |
| Saiph | 2.07 | −7.3 | 66,000 |
| Meissa | 3.39 | −7.3 | 66,000 |
| Omicron1 Canis Majoris | 3.83 | −7.3 | 66,000 |
| Betelgeuse | 0.58 | −7.2 | 60,000 |
| Antares | 0.92 | −7.2 | 60,000 |
| Psi1 Aurigae | 4.92 | −6.95 | 47,000 |
| Delta Canis Majoris | 1.83 | −6.87 | 44,000 |
| Sigma Orionis A | 4.2 | −6.6 | 35,000 |
| Eta Orionis | 3.38 | −6.5 | 32,000 |
| Omicron2 Canis Majoris | 3.02 | −6.46 | 30,000 |
| Gamma Cygni | 2.23 | −6.12 | 22,000 |
| Alpha Herculis | 3.48 | −5.97 | 19,400 |
| Epsilon Aurigae | 3.04 | −5.95 | 19,000 |
| Pi4 Orionis | 3.67 | −5.8 | 17,000 |
| Iota1 Scorpii | 2.99 | −5.71 | 15,000 |
| Eta Leonis | 3.48 | −5.60 | 14,000 |
| Upsilon Carinae | 2.92 | −5.56 | 13,300 |
| Canopus | −0.62 | −5.53 | 12,900 |
| Iota Orionis | 2.77 | −5.5 | 12,600 |
| Beta Centauri | 0.61 | −5.42 | 11,700 |
| Alpha Leporis | 2.58 | −5.40 | 11,500 |
| Phi Velorum | 3.52 | −5.34 | 10,900 |
| Gamma Velorum | 1.75 | −5.31 | 10,600 |
| Beta Crucis | 1.25 | −5.2 | 9,600 |
| VV Orionis | 5.34 | −5.2 | 9,600 |
| Lambda Scorpii | 1.62 | −5.05 | 8,400 |
| Pi Puppis | 2.71 | −4.92 | 7,400 |
| Epsilon Pegasi | 2.38 | −4.8 | 6,600 |
| Epsilon Canis Majoris | 1.50 | −4.8 | 6,600 |
| Bellatrix | 1.64 | −4.75 | 6,300 |
| Xi Puppis | 3.34 | −4.74 | 6,250 |
| Alpha Crucis | 0.76 | −4.6 | 5,500 |
| Epsilon Carinae | 1.86 | −4.58 | 5,400 |
| W Orionis | 5.88 | −4.4 | 4,600 |
| Beta Lyrae | 3.52 | −3.91 | 2,900 |
| Spica | 1.00 | −3.55 | 2,100 |
| Achernar | 0.46 | −1.3 | 260 |
| Gamma Crucis | 1.63 | −1.2 | 240 |
| Aldebaran | 0.85 | −0.63 | 140 |
| Regulus | 1.35 | −0.52 | 130 |
| Arcturus | −0.04 | −0.31 | 110 |
| Capella | 0.08 | 0.4 | 55 |
| Castor | 1.98 | 0.5 | 50 |
| Vega | 0.00 | 0.58 | 47 |
| Pollux | 1.14 | 0.7 | 42 |
| Sirius | −1.46 | 1.4 | 22 |
| HD 38529 | 5.94 | 2.7 | 6.6 |
| Tabit | 3.19 | 3.7 | 2.6 |
| Alpha Centauri A | −0.01 | 4.38 | 1.4 |
| Chi1 Orionis | 4.41 | 4.7 | 1.05 |
| ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Sun (as reference) | −26.8 | 4.75 | 1.00 |
Note that even the most luminous star (40 million times the luminosity of the Sun) is much less luminous than extragalactic objects like quasars, of which several hundred are currently known. The brightest quasar currently known is the ultraluminous 3C 273 in the constellation of Virgo. It has an average apparent magnitude of 12.8 (when observing with a telescope), but an absolute magnitude of −26.7. If this object were 10 parsecs away it would appear nearly as bright in the sky as our sun (apparent magnitude −26.8). This quasar's luminosity is, therefore, about 2 trillion (1012) times that of our sun, or about 100 times that of the total light of average giant galaxies like our Milky Way. Quasars are however also found to vary in luminosity in differing time periods.
In terms of gamma rays, a magnetar (type of neutron star) called SGR 1806-20, had an extreme burst reach Earth on 27 December 2004. It was the brightest event known to have impacted this planet from an origin outside our solar system; if these gamma rays were visible, with an absolute magnitude of approx. −29, it would be brighter than our sun (as measured by the Swift spacecraft).
The Gamma-ray burst GRB_971214 measured in 1998 was at the time thought to be the most energetic event in the universe, with the equivalent energy of several hundred supernovae. Later studies pointed out that the energy was probably the energy of one supernova which had been "beamed" towards Earth by the geometry of the surrounding gas.
[edit] See also
- List of stars
- List of largest stars
- List of most massive stars
- List of brightest stars
- List of nearest stars
- Gamma ray burst
- Quasar
