Step 1 : Introduction to the question "What is the brightest star in the Earth’s night sky?"
Sirius, also known as the Dog Star, is the brightest star in the night sky. It is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. Its name comes from the Greek word for scorching. It's actually a double star system, with a very bright primary and a dimmer secondary star. The reason why it is so bright in the sky is due to a combination of its luminosity and distance – at 6.8 light years, it is one of Earth’s nearest neighbors. Sirius is gradually moving closer to the Solar System, so it will slightly increase in brightness over the next 60,000 years.