If you are a fan of the night sky, a star watcher, and an amateur watching all the awaited astronomical phenomena, can you list the most bright objects in our solar system?

And what can you see with your own eyes without using binoculars or a telescope?

The sun is the brightest object in our sky, of course, but how is the degree of brightness or luminosity of objects in the sky measured in general?

Scale of the brightness of objects

The brightness of objects in the sky in general depends on their composition and their distance from the planet. Kelly Witt, a scientific writer specializing in astronomy, says in an article on the Earthsky website that the brightness of objects in astronomy is measured by what is called the degree of "magnitude" (magnitude), and the lower its number, the brighter the object.

If the brightest star gets the value of "one magnitude", then the second most brightest star gets the second value, and so on up to the sixth value, which is the weakest star that can be seen by the human eye without visual aid.

In some cases, objects in the sky are brighter than the first degree, and the peak of their intense brightness at negative numbers, the sun shines, for example, at -26.7 degrees "magnetiod".

There are about 10 objects in our solar system that can be seen theoretically with the naked eye, in optimal conditions and completely under the dark sky, but in practice it is very difficult to see the faint elements with the eye alone.

The brightness of the moon varies depending on the phase it is in, but it is the second brightest object in our solar system (pixels)

Objects not included in the list

Witt says the list of brighter objects cannot include transient objects in the sky temporarily, such as meteors or very bright comets, although unusual meteorites can make the night sky as bright as day.

She adds that some comets also reach amazing brightness, such as comet "Ikeya-Seki 1965" (Ikeya-Seki 1965), which reached a brightness of -10 degrees, enabling it to be seen at noon, as well as the list of man-made objects, such as Satellites and the International Space Station.

Below Kelly Witt presents the 12 most bright objects in the solar system, in order from brightest to least shiny.

Witt says the first seven objects on the list can be seen using only your eyes, even from cities and suburbs, and the last items on the list are fainter, and therefore likely require a specific location where the sky is dark, as well as some visual aid.

The sun and the moon

The sun is the brightest and brightest element in the sky, as it shines with a force of -26.7 degrees. Technically speaking, you cannot even look at the sun without special safety factors to protect your eyes, as staring at it without protection can cause blindness.

The sun also increases and decreases its activity during a cycle that lasts 11 years, and the new solar cycle "Solar Cycle 25" was officially announced in September 2020.

While the brightness of the moon varies according to the phase it passes through when it is full, and in its full phase the moon tops a degree of -12.7, and when it is a crescent, it only shines with a force of -6.

Venus is the closest planet to Earth and is also the brightest planet in the Solar System and can be seen during the day (Pixabay)

Venus, Mars and Jupiter

Venus is the closest planet to Earth, and it is also the brightest planet in the solar system, and its brightness is measured at -4.7 degrees, meaning that it is bright enough to see in daylight, and the reason for its brightness is partly due to its proximity to the Earth, and also to its thick reflective clouds .

Red Mars is the second closest planet to Earth after Venus, with a maximum brightness of -2.9.

Some mistakenly believe that Jupiter is the brightest planet in the solar system because it is the largest, but it is not like that, as both Venus and Mars - our neighbors - are brighter, due to the great distance between Jupiter and Earth.

Jupiter is bright at about -2.8 degrees, like the brightness of Mars at its peak of -2.9, which it rarely reaches, and the brightness of Jupiter does not change like Mars, nor is it related to sunrise or sunset like Venus.

Mercury and Saturn

The planet Mercury - which is rarely lit - shines more than Saturn at its best, and Mercury can reach -1.9 degrees, and this is brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, which is bright -1.4.

Mercury is associated with the sun in our sky, as it is always seen shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset, and it never rises in the night sky, so we often see it in twilight and not in a real dark sky.

As for the planet Saturn with attractive rings, it is easy to watch without visual assistance. It is true that you will not see its rings with your naked eyes, but you will see the golden color of Saturn and its constant light, as it shines at 0.7 degrees.

Jupiter ranks fifth in terms of brightness in our solar system, while its moon "Io" ranks ninth (Pixabay)

The moons of Jupiter, Vesta, and Uranus

If you are an observer of the sky, then you will most likely have seen all the celestial bodies mentioned so far without visual aid, but for "Ganymede", the largest moon of Jupiter, telescopes will allow you to discover it as it orbits around Jupiter when it is in its brightest images, that is, at about 4.6 degrees .

The volcanic moon of Jupiter "Io" is the next element on the list of brightest in our sky, and it shines with a magnitude of 5.0 degrees when it is at its best.

As for Vesta, it is the fourth asteroid to be discovered, and it is the second largest asteroid after Ceres, and Vesta's brightness can reach 5.1 degrees, in its closest position to Earth.

We return to Jupiter again, where Europa, which is one of Jupiter's four large moons, is known for having an ocean on its surface, and possibly life under its ice crust, and its brightness reaches 5.2 degrees.

In theory, Uranus can be seen with the naked eye, as it is the seventh planet in our solar system, and its brightness at its best reaches 5.6 degrees, and to be more specific, it is easy to capture Uranus with the naked eye after determining its position first using binoculars or telescopes.