Notable stars
The famous individual stars of the night sky and beyond. These 57 range from bright beacons of our own Milky Way, like Betelgeuse, Sirius and Polaris, to record-breakers in distant galaxies: the heaviest star ever weighed and the most distant one ever glimpsed. Each is tied to its home galaxy and cited to its source.
Most luminousR136a17.2 million ×Wolf-Rayet star (WN5h)LargestWOH G641,540 × the Sun's radiusRed hypergiantMost distantEarendel12.9 billion lyMassive hot B-type star
Milky Way
Visit Milky Way →Eta CarinaeLuminous blue variable4.0 million ×AlnilamBlue supergiant271 thousand ×VY Canis MajorisRed hypergiant270 thousand ×AlnitakHot blue supergiant250 thousand ×DenebBlue-white supergiant196 thousand ×MintakaHot blue giant multiple star190 thousand ×AntaresRed supergiant76 thousand ×SaiphBlue supergiant60 thousand ×BetelgeuseRed supergiant60 thousand ×HadarBlue giant32 thousand ×AcruxBlue subgiant (multiple system)31 thousand ×MimosaBlue giant26 thousand ×SpicaBlue giant (close binary)21 thousand ×CanopusYellow-white bright giant13 thousand ×MiraRed giant (pulsating variable)9 thousand ×BellatrixHot blue giant star6 thousand ×PolarisYellow supergiant Cepheid variable1 thousand ×AlbireoOrange bright giant1 thousand ×AchernarBlue-white main-sequence star1 thousand ×AlphardOrange giant971 ×AldebaranOrange giant439 ×RegulusBlue-white main-sequence star341 ×ArcturusOrange giant215 ×AlgolBlue-white eclipsing binary182 ×VegaBlue-white main-sequence star40 ×MizarBlue-white multiple star33 ×RasalhagueWhite giant (rapid rotator)31 ×FomalhautWhite main-sequence star17 ×DenebolaWhite main-sequence star15 ×AltairWhite main-sequence star11 ×ProcyonYellow-white subgiant6.9 ×Tabby's StarF-type main-sequence star4.7 ×Rigil KentaurusSun-like (yellow main-sequence) star1.5 ×TolimanOrange dwarf (K-type main-sequence) star0.5 ×SiriusBlue-white main-sequence starCapellaYellow giant binaryRigelBlue supergiantCastorBlue-white six-star system
Large Magellanic Cloud · 163,000 ly away
Visit Large Magellanic Cloud →R136a1Wolf-Rayet star (WN5h)7.2 million ×R136a2Wolf-Rayet star (WN5h)5.2 million ×Melnick 42O-type supergiant (O2 If)3.6 million ×VFTS 682Wolf-Rayet star (WN5h)3.2 million ×HD 269810O-type giant (O2 III)2.2 million ×Melnick 34Wolf-Rayet binary (WN5h + WN5h)2.0 million ×S DoradusLuminous blue variable1.0 million ×WOH G64Red hypergiant282 thousand ×Sanduleak -69° 202Blue supergiant (B3 Ia)100 thousand ×
Small Magellanic Cloud · 200,000 ly away
Visit Small Magellanic Cloud →Andromeda · 2.5 million ly away
Visit Andromeda →Triangulum · 2.7 million ly away
Visit Triangulum →Across the deep universe (gravitationally lensed)