| Magnitude | Relative Brightness | Example | Remarks | |
| -25 | 10,000,000,000 | Sun | Bright enough to burn the retina | |
| -20 | 100,000,000 | |||
| -15 | 1,000,000 | |||
| -10 | 10,000 | Moon | ||
| -5 | 100 | Venus | Almost bright enough to cast a shadow | |
| 0 | 1 | Alpha Centauri | The brightest stars in the sky | |
| 5 | 0 | .01 | Stars just visible to the eye | |
| 10 | 0 | .000,1 | Proxima Centauri | |
| 15 | 0 | .000,001 | ||
| 20 | 0 | .000,000,01 | Just visible in best telescopes (1945) | |
| 25 | 0 | .000,000,000,1 | ||
| 30 | 0 | .000,000,000,001 | Just visible in best telescopes (1995) | |
| Visible in daylight |
| Visible at night |
| Optical aid required |