Top 10 Brightest Stars
By Nick Greene
Updated October 03, 2016.
Stars are massive shining spheres of hot gas that exist in all galaxies across the universe. They were among the first objects to form in the infant universe, and they continue to be born in many galaxies, including our Milky Way. The star closest to us is the Sun. The next closest star (at a distance of 4.2 light-years) is Proxima Centauri. 
All stars are made primarily of hydrogen, smaller amounts of helium, and traces of other elements. The stars you see with your naked eye in the night sky all belong to the Milky Way galaxy , the huge system of stars that contains our solar system. It contains hundreds of billions of stars, star clusters, and clouds of gas and dust (called nebulae) where stars are born.
Here are the 10 brightest stars as seen from Earth. These make excellent stargazing targets from all but the most light-polluted cities.