111 What are the biggest and smallest stars?
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This article is from the Astronomy FAQ, by Joseph Lazio (jlazio@patriot.net) with numerous contributions by others.
111 What are the biggest and smallest stars?
By Ken Croswell,
John E. Gizis <jeg@pistol.caltech.edu>
[Table reflects most recent distances from Hipparcos.]
The most luminous star within 10 light-years is Sirius.
The most luminous star within 20 light-years is Sirius.
The most luminous star within 30 light-years is Vega.
The most luminous star within 40 light-years is Arcturus.
The most luminous star within 50 light-years is Arcturus.
The most luminous star within 60 light-years is Arcturus.
The most luminous star within 70 light-years is Aldebaran.
The most luminous star within 80 light-years is still Aldebaran.
The most luminous star within 100 light-years is still...Aldebaran.
The most luminous star within 1000 light-years is Rigel.
(Honorable mentions: Canopus, Hadar, gamma Velae, Antares, and
Betelgeuse.)
The most luminous star within 2000 light-years is Rigel.
The most luminous star in the whole Galaxy is *drum roll, please*
.... Cygnus OB2 number 12, with an absolute magnitude around -10.
(also known as VI Cygni No 12).
A table listing the nearest stars (within 12 light years) may be found
at http://www.ccnet.com/~galaxy/tab181.html. The faintest star
within that distance is Giclas 51-15 with absolute visual magnitude
16.99 and spectral type M6.5.
Wielen et al. published the following as the local luminosity function
(total number of stars within 20 parsecs = 65 lightyears). At the faint
end (abs. magnitude >12) this table is bit out of date and the numbers
are probably too high. Everything from abs. magnitude 9 to 18 is
considered an M dwarf (shows TiO and other molecules) or a white dwarf.
abs. mag Number -1 1 0 4 1 14 2 24 3 43 4 78 5 108 Sun is here! 6 121 7 102 8 132 9 159 10 245 11 341 12 512 13 597 14 427 15 427 16 299 17 299 18 >16
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