A disappearing plane and a disease's sudden spread. Legalizations, celebrations â and the inexplicable attraction of a dumped bucket of ice water. These are some of the stories that dominated 2014. Now we want your choices.
The brightest star, as viewed from Earth, is Sirius, and it appears bluish-white to the human eye. It is classified as an A1Vm star and shares the color spectrum with other class-A stars.
The same is true for stars. A blue or white star is hotter than a yellow star, which is hotter than a red star. So, if you look at the strongest color or wavelength of light emitted by the star, then you can calculate its temperature (temperature in degrees Kelvin = 3 x 106/ wavelength in nanometers). searchlight 5 miles from you may look as bright as a penlight 6 inches away from you.The same is true for stars. Astronomers (professional or amateur) can measure a star's brightness (the amount of light it puts out) by using a photometer or charge-coupled device (CCD) on the end of a telescope.