Sirius,
alpha
Canis Majori, is the "Scorching Eye of the Big
Dog:" the brightest star in our skies at apparent
magnitude -1.46. Near the celestial equator, it is
easy to spot and visible from most places on our
planet. It lies only 8.8 light years away, and is
the fifth closest star to us. At absolute
brightness of +1.4, it is not nearly as
intrinsically bright as Rigel, Deneb,
Betelgeuse,
Antares, or Adhara, all brighter stars but much
further away. This X-ray image was taken with the
ROSAT satellite.
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