Hi Folks: I admit to an obsessive fascination with the brightest stars and have been curious to see how the brightest stars in the visible compare to the brightest stars seen by 2MASS, either at J-band or at Ks-band. Attached is a (wide!) ascii file of the top 25 in each band with their rank, name, spectral type, and magnitude in that band tabulated. Note the nice mix in spectral types and luminosity classes in the visible. By the time you've moved redward into Ks-band, your night sky is dominated by late type giants or supergiants. Only one early type dwarf, alpha Cen, even remains in the top 25 brightest stars at Ks. At Ks, the constellations familiar to us in the visual would be completely transformed. Into what? I guess Gene and Robert and whoever else is doing the large mosaics will have to tell us. :-) Note that Arcturus, a nearby K giant, is the only object able to hold a top-10 ranking in all three bands. ---Davy Brightest stars at V (Hipparcos) Brightest stars at J (2MASS) Brightest stars at Ks (2MASS) ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- 01 alpha Canis Majoris A1 V -1.44 01 alpha Orionis M2 Ia -2.989 01 alpha Orionis M2 Ia -4.378 02 alpha Carinae F0 II -0.62 02 alpha Scorpii M1.5 Ib -2.850 02 R Doradus M8e III -4.227 03 alpha Bootis K1.5 III -0.05 03 R Doradus M8e III -2.652 03 alpha Scorpii M1.5 Ib -4.104 04 alpha Centauri G2 V -0.01 04 alpha Herculis M5 II -2.302 04 alpha Herculis M5 II -3.511 05 alpha Lyrae A0 V 0.03 05 alpha Bootis K1.5 III -2.252 05 beta Gruis M5 III -3.324 06 alpha Aurigae G5e III 0.08 06 alpha Tauri K5 III -2.095 06 gamma Crucis M3.5 III -3.296 07 beta Orionis B8 Iab 0.18 07 gamma Crucis M3.5 III -1.994 07 W Hydrae M8e III? -3.215 08 alpha Canis Minoris F5 IV-V 0.40 08 beta Gruis M5 III -1.973 08 alpha Tauri K5 III -3.044 09 alpha Orionis M2 Ia 0.45 09 W Hydrae M8e III? -1.737 09 alpha Bootis K1.5 III -2.911 10 alpha Eridani B3e V 0.45 10 alpha Centauri G2 V -1.454 10 R Hydrae M7e III -2.663 11 beta Centauri B1 III 0.61 11 beta Pegasi M2.5II-III -1.432 11 beta Pegasi M2.5II-III -2.379 12 alpha Aquilae A7 V 0.76 12 alpha Canis Majoris A1 V -1.391 12 pi-1 Gruis S -2.358 13 alpha Crucis B1 IV 0.77 13 R Hydrae M7e III -1.314 13 L2 Puppis M5e III -2.326 14 alpha Tauri K5 III 0.87 14 alpha Aurigae G5e III -1.249 14 R Leonis M8e III -2.292 15 alpha Virginis B1 III-IV 0.98 15 alpha Carinae F0 II -1.169 15 omicron Ceti M7e III -2.213 16 alpha Scorpii M1.5 Ib 1.06 16 L2 Puppis M5e III -1.063 16 30 Herculis M6 III -2.134 17 beta Geminorum K0 IIIb 1.16 17 beta Andromedae M0 III -0.957 17 theta Apodis M6.5 III -2.099 18 alpha Piscis Austrini A3 V 1.17 18 30 Herculis M6 III -0.955 18 alpha Centauri G2 V -2.008 19 alpha Cygni A2e Ia 1.25 19 mu Geminorum M3 III -0.951 19 SW Virginis M7 III -2.003 20 beta Crucis B0.5 IV 1.25 20 epsilon Carinae K3 III -0.787 20 mu Geminorum M3 III -1.982 21 alpha Leonis B7 V 1.36 21 beta Geminorum K0 IIIb -0.782 21 RX Bootis M7.5 III? -1.931 22 epsilon Canis Majoris B2 Iab 1.50 22 rho Persei M4 II -0.779 22 rho Pegasi M4 II -1.904 23 alpha Geminorum A2 V 1.58 23 13 (R) Lyrae M5 III -0.738 23 RS Cancri M6e III/S? -1.873 24 gamma Crucis M3.5 III 1.59 24 omicron Ceti M7e III -0.732 24 beta Andromedae M0 III -1.846 25 lambda Scorpii B2 IV 1.62 25 eta Geminorum M3 III -0.727 25 13 (R) Lyrae M5 III -1.837 Achernar = alpha Eridani Acrux = alpha Crucis Adhara = epsilon Canis Majoris Aldebaran = alpha Tauri Altair = alpha Aquilae Antares = alpha Scorpii Arcturus = alpha Bootis Avior = epsilon Carinae Betelgeuse = alpha Orionis Canopus = alpha Carinae Capella = alpha Aurigae Castor = alpha Geminorum Deneb = alpha Cygni Fomalhaut = alpha Piscis Austrini Hadar = beta Centauri Mira - omicron Ceti Mirach = beta Andromedae Pollux = beta Geminorum Procyon = alpha Canis Minoris Propus = eta Geminorum Ras Algethi = alpha Herculis Regulus = alpha Leonis Rigel = beta Orionis Rigel Kent = alpha Centauri (though usually just referred to as "alpha Centauri"!) Scheat = beta Pegasi Shaula = lambda Scorpii Sirius = alpha Canis Majoris Spica = alpha Virginis Vega = alpha Lyrae