FrontierAstro Star Data

The Brightest Stars as seen from Earth
Star Name	Magnitude	Constellation	Distance in ly	Latitudes Visible
Sirius	-1.5	Canis Major	8.6	South of 74°N
Canopus	-0.7	Carina	313	South of 38°N
Alpha Centauri	-0.3	Centaurus	4.4	South of 30°N
Arcturus	-0.1	Boötes	37	North of 71°S
Vega	0.0	Lyra	25	North of 52°S
Rigel	0.1	Orion	773	South of 82°N
Capella	0.1	Auriga	42	North of 45°S
Procyon	0.3	Canis Minor	11	North of 85°S
Achernar	0.5	Eridanus	144	South of 33°N
Betelgeuse	0.5	Orion	427	North of 83°S
Hadar	0.6	Centaurus	525	South of 30°N
Altair	0.8	Aquila	17	North of 82°S

The Brightest Stars as seen from Earth

Star Name

Magnitude

Constellation

Distance in ly

Latitudes Visible

Sirius

-1.5

Canis Major

8.6

South of 74°N

Canopus

-0.7

Carina

313

South of 38°N

Alpha Centauri

-0.3

Centaurus

4.4

South of 30°N

Arcturus

-0.1

Boötes

North of 71°S

Vega

0.0

Lyra

North of 52°S

Rigel

0.1

Orion

773

South of 82°N

Capella

0.1

Auriga

North of 45°S

Procyon

0.3

Canis Minor

North of 85°S

Achernar

0.5

Eridanus

144

South of 33°N

Betelgeuse

0.5

Orion

427

North of 83°S

Hadar

0.6

Centaurus

525

South of 30°N

Altair

0.8

Aquila

North of 82°S

Magnitude is the apparent magnitude in the night-time skies of Earth. Some stars appear bright because they are close to us, others because they are intrinsically very luminous. The stars in the above table are a mixture of both. Sirius is not particularly luminous but appears bright to us because of its relative closeness. Rigel on the other hand, must be very luminous to appear so bright to us from a much greater distance.

Latitudes Visible gives the latitude you need to be observing from to have a chance of seeing a particular star. Someone observing from London - latitude 51° North - can see Capella, Sirius and Altair but not Achernar, Alpha Centauri or Canopus.
Similarly, someone observing from Christchurch, New Zealand - latitude 43° South - would be able to see all the stars in the table above, although Capella would appear very close to the Northern horizon.
Also note that while the table might say a star is visible to you, it may only be so for part of the year. For example, no-one on Earth can see Rigel during the Northern hemisphere summer (Southern hemisphere winter) because Orion is the other side of the Sun to us at that time.
But if the table says you can't see a star, then you can't see it at all, summer or winter !

The Closest Stars
Star Name	Distance In ly	Constellation	Apparent Magnitude
Proxima Centauri	4.2	Centaurus	10.7
Alpha Centauri	4.4	Centaurus	-0.3
Barnard's Star	5.9	Ophiuchus	9.5
Wolf 359	7.8	Leo	13.5
Lalande 21185	8.3	Ursa Major	7.5
Sirius	8.6	Canis Major	-1.5
UV Ceti	8.7	Cetus	12.5
Ross 154	9.5	Sagittarius	10.6
Ross 248	10.3	Andromeda	12.2
Epsilon Eridani	10.7	Eridanus	3.7
Ross 128	10.8	Virgo	11.1
61 Cygni	11.4	Cygnus	5.2