| Object | Visual magnitude |
|---|---|
| Sun | −26.5 |
| Full Moon | −12.5 |
| Venus (at brightest) | −4.74 |
| Jupiter (at brightest) | −2.1 |
| Sirius (the brightest star) | −1.4 |
| Vega | 0.1 |
| Deneb | 1.3 |
| Aldebaran | 1.0 |
| Altair | 1.0 |
| Halley's Comet (at its brightest in 1986) |
2.0 |
| Naked eye limit (urban areas) |
2.5 |
| Andromeda galaxy | 5.0 |
| Orion nebula | 6.0 |
| Naked eye limit (dark sky) |
6.2 |
|
(About 6000 stars have magnitudes greater than 6.2.) |
|
| Naked eye (experienced, gifted observers under ideal conditions) |
7.0 |
| Naked eye (laboratory tests with artificial stars) |
8.5 |
| 8-inch telescope limit | 14.0 |
| Limit of largest earth-based telescopes |
25-27 |
| Hubble Space Telescope | 31 |
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Last revised: 8 March 2008.