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Milky Way Stars – Names, Numbers, and List in 2023

milky way stars

There are hundreds of stars we can see at night in a clear sky. And with the help of good telescopes, we can look at thousands or more stars. And just for estimation, there are billions of stars in the milky way galaxy.

So exactly, how many stars are in the milky way galaxy? “NO ONE KNOWS”. But there is some estimation considering the shape, size, and mass of our galaxy. According to scientists while considering these estimations, there could be around 100 to 400 billion stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. 

So here in this article, we have mentioned a list of milky way stars with their names and numbers, according to the latest update in 2023. 

List of Stars in the Milky Way Galaxy

The numbers of stars and names are described below according to many categories. Before that, you can check also, the Life Cycle of a Stars. 

Milky Way Stars List and Names up to 20 light-years

Here you can find names and the number of stars in the milky way galaxy just up to 20 light-years away from us.

Note – Only 25 famous stars are listed in order of increasing distance from us (Earth/Sun).

No. Names Distance (light-years)
1. α Centauri C (Proxima Centauri) 4.24
2. α Centauri A (Rigil Kentaurus) 4.36
3. α Centauri B (Toliman) 4.36
4. Barnard’s Star 6.0
5. Luhman 16A and Luhman 16B Stars 6.5
6. WISE 0855−0714 7.25
7. Wolf 359 (CN Leonis) 7.90
8. Sirius A and Sirius B Stars 8.70
9. Epsilon Eridani (Ran) 10.45
10. 61 Cygni A and 61 Cygni B Stars 11.40
11. Procyon A and Procyon B Stars 11.42
12. Groombridge 34 A and B Stars 11.62
13. Tau Ceti 11.75
14. Epsilon Indi A and Ba and Bb 11.90
15. YZ Ceti 12.10
16. Luyten’s Star 12.20
17. Van Maanen’s star 14.30
18. AD Leonis 16.20
19. EV Lacertae 16.50
20. Altair 16.73
21. EI Cancri A and B Stars 16.75
22. Gliese 526 (Wolf 498) 17.72
23. Stein 2051 A and B Stars 18.0
24. Sigma Draconis 18.76
25. Delta Pavonis 19.95

List of Brightest Stars in the Milky Way

Here is given the 11 brightest stars’ names in our galaxy milky way with distance from us. 

Note – These are the stars that look brightest from the earth. 

No. Names Distance (light-years)
1. The Sun 0.0000158
2. Sirius 8.6
3. Canopus 310
4. Rigil Kentaurus and Toliman 4.4
5. Arcturus 37
6. Vega 25
7. Capella 43
8. Rigel 860
9. Procyon 11
10. Achernar 139
11. Betelgeuse 700

10 Largest Stars in Milky Way Galaxy

Here is the list of the largest stars in the milky way galaxy. It becomes really tough to know the exact size of distant stars. So scientists usually update this data. Here we have only listed 10 famous and possibly largest milky way stars with their names and numbers. 

You may also like reading the below-related articles for star size:- 

No. Star Names Diameter (light-years)
1. Stephenson 2-18 2160
2. UY Scuti 1700
3. NML Cygni 1650
4. RW Cephei 1535
5. Westerlund 1-26 1530
6. VV Cephei A 1475
7. VY Canis Majoris 1420
8. AH Scorpii 1410
9. S Persei 1365
10. VX Sagittarii 1355

10 Most Massive Stars in Milky Way Galaxy

Here is the list of the 10 most massive star names in our milky way galaxy. This list is described in order of decreasing the solar mass. One solar mass is the mass of the sun that is approximately 2 × 1030 kg. 

No. Names Mass (Solar Mass)
1. HD 15558 A 152
2. HD 97950 B 132
3. WR 42e 123
4. HD 97950 A1a 120
5. LSS 4067 120
6. WR 93 120
7. MSP 183 115
8. WR 24 114
9. HD 97950 C1 113
10. Cygnus OB2 12A 110

So, these were the list of stars in the milky way galaxy with their names and numbers. Though these lists get updated with time. Because these lists depend on many factors such as size, mass, and distance.

And these factors change with new discoveries or due to changes in methods. And also these stars are distant objects, so scientists usually give an approximate value (Nothing is Exact in Astronomy).

  • Still, this is the latest update in 2023 and we will always try to update the list of milky way galaxy stars. 

If you have liked reading about the milky way stars list, and the name of stars in the milky way galaxy then you can check some below articles relevant to it.

Related articles for star-size:- 

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