What's that bright star?
Very often the brightest "star" in the sky is a planet. Choose which way you are facing and how high the light is; we work out what is there right now.
Where are you?
Facing
Height
When (defaults to now)
A fist held at arm's length covers about 10° of sky; the horizon to straight overhead is 90°.
- Choose a place, a direction and a height.
Bright planets right now
- Mercury magnitude +0.7, evening sky, in Libra
- Venus magnitude −4.2, hidden near the Sun, in Virgo
- Mars magnitude +0.9, morning sky, in Cancer
- Jupiter magnitude −2.0, morning sky, in Leo
- Saturn magnitude +0.4, evening sky, in Cetus
Rule of thumb: planets shine with a steadier light than stars and are always found near the ecliptic, the path the Sun and Moon follow across the sky. Venus and Jupiter outshine every star.
The brightest stars
| Star | Constellation | Magnitude | Colour | Evening sky (21:00) | Rises for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sirius | Canis Major | −1.4 | white | February | everywhere south of 73° N |
| Canopus | Carina | −0.6 | white | February | everywhere south of 37° N |
| Arcturus | Bootes | −0.1 | orange | June | everywhere north of 71° S |
| Rigil Kentaurus | Centaurus | −0.0 | yellow | June | everywhere south of 29° N |
| Vega | Lyra | +0.0 | white | August | everywhere north of 51° S |
| Capella | Auriga | +0.1 | yellow | January | everywhere north of 44° S |
| Rigel | Orion | +0.2 | blue-white | January | everywhere south of 82° N |
| Procyon | Canis Minor | +0.4 | yellow-white | February | everywhere north of 85° S |
| Achernar | Eridanus | +0.5 | blue-white | November | everywhere south of 33° N |
| Betelgeuse | Orion | +0.5 | red-orange | February | everywhere north of 83° S |
| Hadar | Centaurus | +0.6 | blue-white | June | everywhere south of 30° N |
| Altair | Aquila | +0.8 | white | September | everywhere north of 81° S |
| Acrux | Crux | +0.8 | blue-white | May | everywhere south of 27° N |
| Aldebaran | Taurus | +0.9 | red-orange | January | everywhere north of 73° S |
| Spica | Virgo | +1.0 | blue-white | May | everywhere south of 79° N |
| Antares | Scorpius | +1.1 | red-orange | July | everywhere south of 64° N |
| Pollux | Gemini | +1.2 | orange | March | everywhere north of 62° S |
| Fomalhaut | Piscis Austrinus | +1.2 | white | October | everywhere south of 60° N |
| Mimosa | Crux | +1.2 | blue-white | May | everywhere south of 30° N |
| Deneb | Cygnus | +1.2 | white | September | everywhere north of 45° S |
| Toliman | Centaurus | +1.4 | orange | June | everywhere south of 29° N |
| Regulus | Leo | +1.4 | blue-white | April | everywhere north of 78° S |
| Adhara | Canis Major | +1.5 | blue-white | February | everywhere south of 61° N |
| Castor | Gemini | +1.6 | white | February | everywhere north of 58° S |
| Gacrux | Crux | +1.6 | red-orange | May | everywhere south of 33° N |
| Shaula | Scorpius | +1.6 | blue-white | July | everywhere south of 53° N |
| Bellatrix | Orion | +1.6 | blue-white | January | everywhere north of 84° S |
| Elnath | Taurus | +1.6 | blue-white | January | everywhere north of 61° S |
"Evening sky" is the month when the star is due south (or due north, from far south) at about 21:00 local time; it is visible for a few months either side. "Rises for": latitudes from which it gets above the horizon at all.