#3219: Planets and Bright Stars

XKCD comic, described below.
Transcript

[An array of four columns and three rows of white dots are displayed on a black background. Above them there is caption in white text. Below each white dot there is a label in white. The dots are almost identical, slightly fuzzy and 'white'. There are very slight color hues to the dots, and very minor differences in size, but they are not clearly visible unless the image is enhanced.]

[Caption text:] Planets and Bright Stars identification chart

[Dot labels, in reading order:]

[Top row:]   Venus     Mars     Jupiter     Saturn

[Middle row:]   Mercury     Sirius     Procyon     Antares

[Bottom row:]   Altair     Betelgeuse     Vega     Polaris

(Sourced from explainxkcd.com)

An old astronomer trick for distinguishing the Sun from other stars is to take multiple photos a few minutes apart and overlay them, making the Sun stand out due to its high proper motion.

ExplainOriginal