How many astronomy facts are there for all the objects and phenomenon in the entire universe?

To count the stars in the universe we need a one followed by 22 zeros. Then consider that many of those stars have planets surrounding them. Then consider the moons that surround the planets, the asteroids, the nebula, the galaxies, and all the other stuff the universe contains. It's a lot to consider. Not every piece of information can be presented here. Walked is here, however, is interesting.

How about the brightest stars as seen from Earth? Those are good astronomy facts. Let's ignore the sun, it's too close. We get so much light from the sun that when it shines none of the other stars can be seen. In a the brightness scale we'll use, lower numbers are brighter. The sun would be about -26.73, while the full moon is -12.6. All righty then, here's the top five list.

#5 goes to Vega, Arabic for vulture. It's about 25 light years away from the Earth, with a magnitude of .03. When looking at these astronomy facts remember that brightest from Earth doesn't mean largest or brightest. Our sun, for example, appears brighter than any other star, even though it's not one of the brightest in the universe. That's because it's so close.

#4 is the Arabic foot of the centaur, Rigel Kentaurus. It sits about 4 light-years from Earth and has a magnitude of -.01.

At #3, is Arcturus, according to the astronomy facts we know. In Greek that means guardian of the bear. This star is 37 light years from us.

Canopus sits at number two. In reality it's the brightest of all of these top five stars. But because of its distance, 313 light-years from Earth, it only appears to be second brightest. From earth its magnitude is -.62.

#1 is reserved for serious, meaning scorching in the Greek language. Because it's the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, it's also called the Dog Star.. At only 9 light-years away from Earth it is the second closest in these top five. At -1.44 magnitude it's the brightest star we can see from Earth.

There are many more astronomy facts out there. Think about magnitudes, however, next time you look up at the stars.