Sirius

Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris) is the brightest star in the night sky. Though considerably more luminous than the Sun, its brightness is largely due to its nearness: it is the nearest star after Alpha Centauri that is visible without a telescope, and is the seventh nearest star/star system. It is a binary star, Sirius A being an Am star of absolute magnitude +1.43 and Sirius B, a DA2-type star, a white dwarf with absolute magnitude +11.18 and apparent magnitude of +8.44, requiring a telescope to view. They orbit in about 50 years. Characteristics (Sirius A, which is the star one sees):

• Canis Major - constellation.
• 06h45m08.917s - right ascension.
• -16deg42m58.02s - declination.
• -1.46 - apparent magnitude.
• 8.60 ly - distance.
• A0mA1 Va - spectral type.
• 2.063 - mass(solar).
• 25.4 - luminosity(solar).
• 1.711 - radius(solar).
• +0.00 - B-V color index.