Astronomers measure the brightness of stars using light-years. This means that the light we see now left in that years ago, traveling through space in that distance at kilometer per second.
A star is born, it radiates energy for a long time, toward the end it expands, it may or may not explode, and then it dies. It vary in sizes, masses and surface temperature range. The colors of stars reflect their surface temperature. Their relative brightness is expressed in a scale of six magnitudes. The brightest the stars are first-magnitude stars, while the dimmest are sixth-magnitude stars.
The lower the number, the brighter the star.
For example:
Star color Surface Temperature
Blue-white around 25 000 K & higher
white around 10 000 K
yellow around 7 000 K
Red around 5 000 K & lower
