The largest star in the solar system. The biggest stars in the universe

People tend to look at the sky, watching millions and millions of stars. We dream of distant worlds and draw images of our brothers in mind. Each world illuminates its own "sun". Research equipment looks deep into space at 9 billion light years.

But even this is not enough to say with accuracy how many stars are in space. At the current stage of the study, about 50 billion are known. This number is steadily growing, as there is constant research, technology is being improved. People learn about new giants and dwarfs in the world of space objects. Which of the stars is the largest in the universe?

Sun Dimensions

Thinking about the dimensions of the stars, understand what to compare with, feel the scale. The size of our Sun is impressive. Its diameter is 1.4 million km. This huge number is hard to imagine. The fact that the mass of the Sun is 99.9% of the mass of all objects in the solar system will help in this. Theoretically, a million planets could fit inside our star.

Using these numbers, astronomers have coined the terms "solar radius" and "solar mass" that are used to compare the sizes and masses of space objects. The radius of the Sun is 690,000 km, and the weight is 2 billion kilograms. Compared to other stars, the Sun is a relatively small cosmic object.

Former All-Star Champion

The stellar mass is constantly "thinning" because of the "stellar wind". Thermonuclear processes, continuously shaking the universal luminaries, lead to the loss of hydrogen - "fuel" for reactions. Accordingly, the mass also decreases. Therefore, it is difficult for scientists to give exact figures regarding the parameters of such large and hot objects. The luminaries age and, after a supernova explosion, turn into neutron star or a black hole.

For decades a big star recognized VY in the constellation Big Dog. Not so long ago, the parameters were specified, and scientists' calculations showed that its radius is 1300-1540 solar radii. The diameter of the giant is 2 billion kilometers, and it is located 5,000 light-years from Earth.

To imagine the dimensions of this object, imagine that it will take 1200 years to fly around it, moving at a speed of 800 km / h. If you suddenly imagine that the Earth was compressed to 1 cm and VY was also reduced, then the giant will be 2.2 km in size.

But the mass of the star is small and exceeds the mass of the Sun only 40 times. This is due to the low density of the substance. The brightness of the light is truly amazing. It emits light 500,000 times brighter than ours. VY was first mentioned in 1801. It was described by the scientist Joseph Jérôme de Lalande. The record says that the luminary belongs to the seventh grade.

Since 1850, observations have shown a gradual loss of brightness. The outer edge of VY began to increase because the forces of gravity no longer hold the mass at a constant level. Soon (by cosmic standards) a supernova explosion of this star is possible. Scientists say it could happen tomorrow or in a million years. Science does not have exact numbers.

Reigning Star Champion

Space exploration continues. In 2010, scientists led by Paul Crowther saw an impressive space object using the Hubble telescope. Exploring the Large Magellanic Cloud, astronomers discovered a new star and gave it the name R136a1. From us to R136a1, the distance is 163,000 light years.

The parameters shocked the scientists. The mass of the giant exceeds the mass of the Sun by 315 times, despite the fact that it was previously stated that there are no stars in space that exceed our Sun in mass by 150 times. Such a phenomenon occurred, according to the hypothesis of scientists, due to the connection of several objects. The brightness of the glow of R136a1 exceeds the brightness of the radiation of our sun by 10 million times.

During the period from discovery to our time, the star has lost one-fifth of its mass, but it is still considered a record holder even among its neighbors. They were also discovered by Crowther's group. These objects also exceeded the milestone of 150 solar masses.

Scientists have calculated that if R136a1 is placed in the solar system, then the brightness of the glow compared to our luminary will be the same as if the brightness of the Sun and the Moon were compared.

This is the largest star known to mankind so far. Surely in the Milky Way galaxy there are dozens, if not hundreds, of larger luminaries, closed from our eyes by gas and dust clouds.

VV Cephei 2. At 2400 light years, VV Cepheus 2 is located, which exceeds the size of the Sun by 1600-1900 times. The radius is 1050 radii of our Sun. In terms of light emission, the star exceeds the landmark from 275 to 575 thousand times. This is a variable pulsar, pulsing with an interval of 150 days. The speed of the cosmic wind directed away from the sun is 25 km/sec.

Studies have proven that VV Cephei 2 is a double star. The eclipse of the second star B occurs regularly every 20 years. VV Cephei B revolves around the main star VV Cephei 2. It is blue and has a rotation period of 20 years. The eclipse lasts 3.6 years. The object surpasses the Sun in mass by 10 times, and by the intensity of the glow - by 100,000 times.

Mu Cephei. Cepheus flaunts a red supergiant, larger than the Sun by 1650 times. Mu Cephei is the brightest star in the Milky Way. The brightness of the glow is 38,000 times higher than the guideline. It is also known as the "garnet star of Herschel". Studying the star in the 1780s, the scientist called it "a delightfully beautiful garnet-colored object."

In the sky of the northern hemisphere, it is observed without a telescope from August to January, it resembles a drop of blood in the sky. After two or three million years, a giant supernova explosion is expected, which will turn the star into a black hole or a pulsar and a gas and dust cloud.

At 20,000 light-years from Earth, the red giant V838 shines in the constellation Monoceros. This cluster of stars, previously unknown to anyone, "became famous" in 2002. At this time, an explosion occurred there, which astronomers first perceived as a supernova explosion. But due to its young age, the star did not approach the cosmic "death".

For a long time could not even imagine what the cause of the cataclysm was. Hypotheses have now been put forward that the object has swallowed up a "companion star" or objects orbiting around it.

The object is credited with dimensions from 1170 to 1970 solar radii. Due to the gigantic distance, scientists do not give exact numbers for the mass of the red variable star.

Until recently, scientists believed that the parameters of WHO 64 are comparable to R136a1 from the constellation Canis Major.

But it was found that the size of this luminary is only 1540 times larger than the sun. It shines from the Large Magellanic Cloud.

V354 Cephei. The red supergiant V354 Cephei, 9,000 light-years from Earth, is invisible without a telescope.

It is located in the Milky Way galaxy. The temperature on the shell is 3650 degrees Kelvin, the radius is 1520 times greater than the solar one and is determined at 1.06 billion km.

KY Swan. It would take 5,000 light years to fly to KY Cygnus. This time is hard to imagine. Such figures mean that a beam of light flies at hyperluminal speed from a star to the Earth for 5000 years.

If we compare the radius of the object and the Sun, then it will be 1420 solar radii. The mass of a star is only 25 times more mass landmark. But KY will quite compete for the title of the brightest star in the part of the Universe open to us. Its luminosity outstrips the solar millions of times.

KW Sagittarius. 10,000 irresistible light years separate us from the KW star in Sagittarius.

It is a red supergiant with a size of 1460 solar radii and a luminosity 360,000 times higher than that of our Sun.

Constellation visible in the sky southern hemisphere. It is easy to find on the surface of the Milky Way. The star cluster was first described by Ptolemy in the second century.

RW Cephei. The dimensions of RW Cepheus are still being debated. Some scientists claim that the dimensions are equal to 1260 radii of the landmark, others are inclined to believe that they are 1650 solar radii. It is the largest variable star.

If it is moved to the place of the Sun in our system, then the supergiant photosphere will be between the trajectories of Saturn and Jupiter. The star is rapidly flying towards the solar system at a speed of 56 km/sec. The end of the star will turn it into a supernova, or the core will collapse into a black hole.

Betelgeuse. The red giant Betelgeuse lies 640 light-years away in Orion. The size of Betelgeuse is 1100 solar radii. Astronomers are confident that in the near future there will be a period of rebirth of a star into a black hole or supernova. Humanity will see this universal show from the "front row".

As we eagerly gaze up into the sky with all our instruments and explore it with robotic spacecraft and human crewed missions, we are bound to make amazing new discoveries that will take us even further into space.

We are constantly studying new objects among the trillions of celestial bodies. Let's open one more new star, which will outshine the already known ones in size. But alas, we will never know about the true scale of the universe.

My six year old daughter is a questioning machine. A couple of days ago we were driving from school and she was asking me about nature. One of her questions was, " What is the largest star in the universe?" I gave a simple answer. "The universe is great place", I said, "and there's no way we can know what is the biggest star". But that's not a real answer.

Radius and mass of the Sun:

When it comes to the size of stars, it's important to look at ours first for a sense of scale. Our star has a diameter of 1.4 million kilometers. This is such a huge number that it's hard to get a sense of the scale. By the way, the Sun accounts for 99.9% of all matter in ours. In fact, you could fit a million inside the volume of the sun.

Using these values, astronomers have created the concepts of "solar radius" and "solar mass" which they use to compare stars of larger or smaller size and mass to our Sun. The solar radius is 690,000 km and the solar mass is 2 x 1030 kg. This is 2 nonillion kilograms, or 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg.

An illustration of a Morgan-Keenan spectral diagram showing the difference between stars main sequence. Credit: Wikipedia Commons.

Also worth considering is the fact that our Sun is quite small, a G-class main sequence star (specifically a G2V star), which is widely known to be on the smaller side of the size chart (see above). Although the Sun is certainly larger than the most common M-class stars, or red dwarfs, it is itself dwarf (no pun intended!) when compared to blue giants and other spectral classes of stars.

Classification:

Stars are grouped based on their characteristics, such as spectral type (i.e. color), temperature, size, and brightness. The most common classification method is called the Morgan-Keenan (MK) system, which classifies stars according to temperature using the letters O, B, A, F, G, K, and M, where O are the hottest stars and M are the coldest. Each letter class is subdivided into numerical subclasses from 0 (hottest) to 9 (coldest). That is, the hottest stars are O1, and the coldest stars are M9.

In the Morgan-Keenan system, the luminosity class is added using Roman numerals. This is done on the basis of a certain width of absorption lines in the spectrum of the star, which change with the density of the atmosphere, which distinguishes giant stars from dwarfs. Luminosity has classes 0 and I in relation to hyper- and supergiants; classes II, III and IV for bright, normal giants and subgiants, respectively; class V for main sequence stars; and classes VI and VII apply to subdwarfs and dwarfs.

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram showing the relationship between a star's color, luminosity, and temperature. Credit: astronomy.starrynight.com

There is also a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram regarding stellar classification by absolute magnitude (i.e. true brightness), luminosity and surface temperature. The same classification is used for spectral types starting with blue and white color at one end to red at the other, which then combines the stars by absolute magnitude, placing them on a 2D plot (see above).

On average, O-class stars are hotter than other classes of stars, reaching effective temperatures of up to 30,000 Kelvin. At the same time, they are larger and more massive, reaching sizes over 6.5 solar radii and up to 16 solar masses. At the lower end of the diagram, K- and M-class stars (orange and red dwarfs) tend to be colder with temperatures between 2400 and 5700 Kelvin, which is 0.7 - 0.96 from and somewhere around 0.08 - 0. 8 from the solar mass.

Based on the full classification of our Sun (G2V), we can say that it is a main sequence star with a temperature of around 5800 Kelvin. Now consider another famous star system in our galaxy - Eta Carinae (Eta Carinae)- a system containing at least two stars located at a distance of 7500 light years from us in the direction of the constellation Carina. The main star of this system is estimated to be 250 times larger than the Sun, has a mass of at least 120 solar masses and a million times brighter than the sun which makes it one of the largest and brightest stars ever observed.

This Carina, one of the most massive stars known, is located in the constellation Carina. Credit: NASA.

There is currently debate over the size of this star. Most stars emit a stellar wind (the same as ), losing mass over time. But This keel so big that it sheds 500 times its mass every year. With this mass loss, it is difficult for astronomers to accurately measure where the star ends and the stellar wind begins. In addition, scientists believe that This keel will explode in the not so distant future, and it will be the most spectacular that people have ever seen.

In terms of net weight, the first place goes to star R136a1, located at a distance of 163,000 light years from us. It is believed that this star can contain 315 solar masses, which is a puzzle for astronomers, since they believe that stars can only contain a maximum of 150 solar masses. The answer lies in the fact that star R136a1 formed, in all likelihood, when several massive stars merged together. Needless to say, R136a1 could explode as .

From the point of view of major stars, a good (and popular) example is Betelgeuse. Located in the shoulder of Orion, this known supergiant has a radius of approximately 950-1200 solar radii, at that radius the Sun would engulf our solar system. In fact, whenever we want to put the size of our Sun into perspective, we often use Betelgeuse to do this (see below).

However, even after we use this ungainly red giant to compare the Sun to large stars, there are still bigger stars. Consider star WOH G64, a red supergiant located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, approximately 168,000 light-years from Earth. With a diameter of 1540 solar radii, this star is currently the largest star known to us in the universe.

But there is also RW Cephei, an orange hypergiant in the constellation Cepheus, located 3500 light years from Earth and measuring 1535 solar radii in diameter. Star Westerland 1-26 (Westerlund 1-26) extraordinarily large, it is a red supergiant (or hypergiant) located in the stellar supercluster Westerlund 1 at a distance of 11,500 light years from us and measuring 1,530 solar radii in diameter. Meanwhile, stars V354 Cephei and VX Sagittarius also have huge size 1520 solar radii in diameter.

UY Shield's largest star (UY Scuti)

The title of the largest star in the universe(of which we know) comes down to two contenders. For example, UY Shield currently at the top of the list, located 9,500 light-years away in the constellation Scutum, this bright red supergiant and pulsating variable star has an average radius of 1,708 solar radii - or 2.4 billion kilometers (15.9 AU) , thereby giving it a volume of 5 million volumes of the Sun.

However, this average estimate includes an error of ±192 solar radii, which means that the radius of this star can be either 1900 or 1516 solar radii. The lower bound places it on par with V354 Cephei and VX Sagittarius. Meanwhile, the second largest star on the list of possible the biggest stars- this is NML Cygnus (NML Cygni), a semi-regular red hypergiant variable star located in the constellation Cygnus at a distance of 5300 light-years from Earth.

An enlarged image of the red giant UY Scutum. Credit: Rutherford Observatory/Haktarfone.

Due to the location of this star in , it is heavily obscured by dust. As a result, according to astronomers, its size can be from 1642 to 2775 solar radii, which means it could become largest star known in the universe(with a margin of about 1000 solar radii), or in fact the torus in size, keeping up with UY Shield.

Just a few years ago the title the biggest star wore VY Canis Major(VY Canis Majoris), a red hypergiant in the constellation Canis Major, located 5000 light years from Earth. Back in 2006, Professor Roberta Humphrey of the University of Minnesota calculated an upper bound for its size at 1540 times the size of the Sun. Its mean mass, however, was 1420 solar masses, placing it eighth behind V354 Cephei and VX Sagittarii.

The above have been listed the biggest stars, which we know about, but most likely there are dozens of larger stars hidden in dust and gas, so that we do not see them. But even if we can't detect these stars, we can speculate about their likely size and mass. So how big can stars be? Once again, Professor Roberta Humphrey from Minnesota gave the answer.

Size comparison of the Sun and VY Canis Majoris, the star that once held the title largest known star in the universe. Credit: Wikipedia Commons/Oona Räisänen.

As she explained in her article, largest stars in the universe- the coldest. Therefore, although This keel is the brightest star we know of, extremely hot (25,000 Kelvin) and therefore only 250 solar radii in diameter. The largest stars, on the contrary, will be cold supergiants. As in the case VY Canis Major, which has a temperature of 3500 Kelvin, and a really big star will be even colder.

At 3000 Kelvin, Humphrey estimates that the cold supergiant would be 2600 times the size of the Sun. This is below the upper limit of estimates for NML Cygnus, but above average for both NML Cygnus, and for UY Shield. Therefore, this is the upper limit of a star (at least in theory and based on all the information we have to date).

But as we continue to peer into the Universe with all our telescopes and study it with robotic spacecraft and manned missions, you are sure to find new amazing things that will continue to amaze us!

And be sure to check out this amazing animation below, which shows the sizes of various objects in space, from tiny to UY Shield star. Enjoy!

The title of the article you read "What is the largest star in the universe?".

The universe is a very big place and there is no way we can tell which star is the biggest. But what is the largest star known to us?

Before we get to the answer, let's look at our own Sun for scale. Our mighty star is 1.4 million km across. This is such a huge distance that it is difficult to put it on a scale. The sun makes up 99.9% of all matter in our solar system. In fact, there are one million Earth planets inside the Sun.

Astronomers use the terms "solar radius" and "solar mass" to compare larger and smaller stars, and we'll do the same. The solar radius is 690,000 km, one solar mass is 2 x 10 30 kilograms. This is 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg.

One huge known star in our galaxy is Eta Carinae, located 7500 light-years from the Sun and weighing 120 solar masses. It is a million times brighter than the sun. Most stars lose their mass over time, much like the solar wind. But Eta Carina is so big that every year it throws off a mass equal to 500 Earth masses. With so much mass lost, it is very difficult for astronomers to accurately measure where a star ends and its stellar wind begins.

Thus, the best answer from astronomers now is that the radius of Eta Carina is 250 times the size of the Sun.

And one interesting note: This Carina should explode soon, it will be one of the most spectacular supernovas that people have ever seen.

But the most massive star in the universe is R136a1, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. There are disputes, but its mass may be more than 265 solar masses. And this is a mystery to astronomers, because theoretically the largest stars were considered to be about 150 solar masses, formed in the early universe when stars were formed from hydrogen and helium left over from the Big Bang. The answer to this controversy is that R136a1 may have been formed when several large stars merged together. Needless to say, R136a1 could explode into a hypernova any day now.

From the point of view of large stars, let's consider a familiar star located in the constellation of Orion - Betelgeuse. This red supergiant has a radius of 950 to 1200 times the size of the Sun, and would encompass the orbit of Jupiter if placed in our solar system.

But this is nothing. The largest known star is VY Canis Majoris. A red hypergiant in the constellation Canis Major, located about 5,000 light-years from Earth. Professor Robert Humphreys of the University of Minnesota recently calculated its upper size to be greater than 1,540 times the size of the Sun. If VY Canis Major were placed in our system, then its surface would extend beyond the orbit of Saturn.

It's the largest star we know of, but the Milky Way probably has dozens of stars that further obscure the gas and dust clouds so we can't see them.

But let's see if we can answer the original question, what is the largest star in the universe? Obviously, it's virtually impossible for us to find it, the universe is a very big place, and there's no way we could peer into every corner.

The gun is another star, which is considered one of the largest.

According to theorists, the largest stars will be cold supergiants. For example, the temperature of VY Canis Majoris is only 3500 K. A really big star would be even colder. A cold supergiant with a temperature of 3000 K would be 2,600 solar in size.

And finally, here's a great video that shows the size of various objects in space, starting with our tiny planet ending with VV Cephei. VY Canis Major is not included in the animation, probably because they didn't have new information by this star.

Myriads of stars dot the night sky. And to a person from Earth, they seem exactly the same. Well, in some parts of the sky, for example, in the Milky Way region, the stars merge into luminous streams.

This is because there is an incredibly huge number of stars in the universe.

In fact, there are so many of them that even the knowledge of modern researchers, which was obtained using the latest equipment (by the way, it allows you to look into space at 9 billion light years) is not enough.

Now there are about 50 billion stars in the depths of space. And every day the figure is only growing, because scientists do not get tired of exploring space and making new discoveries.

brighter than the sun

All stars in the universe have different diameters. And even our Sun is not the largest star, however, not a small one either. She has 1,391,000 kilometers in diameter. There are more significant stars in the Universe, they are called hypergiants. For a long time, VY, which is located in the constellation Canis Major, was considered the largest star. Not so long ago, the radius of the star was refined - and approximately ranges from 1300 to 1540 solar radii. The diameter of this supergiant is about 2 billion kilometers. VY is located 5 thousand light years from the solar system.

Scientists have calculated to imagine how gigantic it is, one revolution around the hypergiant star will take 1200 years, and then if you fly at a speed of 800 kilometers per hour. Or, if we reduce the Earth to 1 centimeter and also proportionally reduce VY, then the size of the latter will be 2.2 kilometers.

The mass of this star is not so impressive. VY is only 40 times heavier than the Sun. This happened because the density of gases inside it is incredibly low. Well, the brightness of the star can only be admired. It shines 500 thousand times stronger than our heavenly body.

The first observations of VY that were recorded are in the star catalog of Joseph Jérôme de Lalande. The information is dated March 7, 1801. Scientists pointed out that VY is a star of the seventh magnitude.

But in 1847, information appeared that VY had a crimson hue. In the nineteenth century, researchers discovered that the star has at least six discrete components, so it is likely a multiple star. But now it turned out that the discrete components are nothing more than bright patches of the nebula that surrounds the hypergiant. In 1957, visual observations and high-quality images from 1998 showed that VY was missing a companion star.

However, by our time, the largest star in the universe has already managed to lose more than half of its mass. That is, the star is aging and its hydrogen fuel is already running out. The outer part of VY has become larger due to the fact that gravity can no longer prevent weight loss. Scientists say that when a star runs out of fuel, it will most likely explode in a supernova and turn into a neutron star or a black hole. According to observations, the star has been losing its brightness since 1850.

Lost leadership

However, scientists do not leave the study of the Universe for a minute. Therefore, this record was broken. Astronomers have found an even bigger star in the vastness of space. The discovery was made by a group of British scientists led by Paul Crowther at the end of the summer of 2010.

The researchers studied the Large Magellanic Cloud and found the star R136a1. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope helped make an incredible discovery.

The giant in its mass is 256 times larger than our Sun. But in terms of brightness, R136a1 exceeds the celestial body by ten million times. Such fantastic figures were a revelation for scientists, because it was believed that stars that exceed the mass of the Sun by more than 150 times do not exist.

And continuing to explore the clusters of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, experts have found several more stars that have exceeded this milestone. Well, R136a1 turned out to be a real record holder. The most interesting thing is that throughout their existence, stars lose their mass. At least, such statements are made by scientists. And R136a1 has now lost one-fifth of its original mass. According to calculations, it was equal to 320 solar masses.

By the way, according to experts, if such a star is presented in our Galaxy, it would be brighter than the Sun as much as the Sun is brighter than the Moon.

Record-breaking stars

But the brightest in the visible sky are the stars Rigel and Deneb from the constellations Orion and Cygnus, respectively. Each shines brighter than the Sun 55 thousand times and 72.5 thousand times. These luminaries are removed from us by 1600 and 820 light years.

Another one bright Star from the constellation Orion - the star Betelgeuse. It is the third largest luminosity. She's brighter sunlight by the strength of light emission by 22 thousand times. By the way, most of the brightest stars are collected in Orion, although their brightness changes periodically.

But the brightest among the stars closest to Earth is Sirius from the constellation Canis Major. It shines brighter than our Sun only 23.5 times. And the distance to this star is 8.6 light years. In the same constellation there is another bright star - Adara. This star shines like 8700 Suns combined at a distance of 650 light years. Well, the North Star, which many incorrectly consider the brightest visible star, shines 6 thousand times brighter than the Sun. The polar star is at the tip Ursa Minor and is 780 light-years from Earth.

If instead of the Sun there were other stars and planets

It is noteworthy that astronomers distinguish from total mass and zodiac constellation Taurus. It contains an unusual star, which is distinguished by a supergiant density and a rather small spherical magnitude. According to astrophysicists, it mainly consists of fast neutrons that fly apart. It was once the brightest star in the universe.

Star R136a1 and the Sun

Big luminosity, scientists say, have blue stars. The brightest known is UW CMa. It is 860 thousand times brighter than our heavenly body. But this figure is rapidly falling, as the brightness of the stars changes over time. For example, according to the chronicle, which is dated July 4, 1054, the brightest star was in the constellation Taurus, it could be seen in the sky with the naked eye even in the middle of the day. But over time, the star began to fade and after a while it disappeared altogether. And in the place where she shone, a nebula formed, which looked like a crab. Hence the name Crab Nebula. It appeared after a supernova explosion. By the way, modern scientists have found a powerful source of radio emission in the center of this nebula, in other words, a pulsar. This is the remnant of that bright supernova, which was described in the old chronicle.
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Stars are large celestial bodies of hot plasma, the dimensions of which can amaze the most inquisitive reader. Ready to evolve?

It should be noted right away that the rating was compiled taking into account those giants that are already known to mankind. It is possible that somewhere in outer space there are even larger stars, but it is located at a distance of many light years, and modern equipment is simply not enough to detect and analyze them. It is also worth adding that the largest stars will eventually cease to be such, because they belong to the class of variables. Well, do not forget about the probable errors of astrologers. So...

Top 10 biggest stars in the universe

10

Opens the rating of the largest stars in the Betelgeuse Galaxy, the size of which exceeds the radius of the sun by 1190 times. It is located approximately 640 light years from Earth. Comparing with other stars, we can say that at a relatively short distance from our planet. The red-colored giant in the next few hundred years can turn into a supernova. In this case, its dimensions will increase significantly. For justified reasons, the star Betelgeuse, occupying last place in this rating is the most interesting!

RW

An amazing star, attracting with an unusual glow color. Its size exceeds the dimensions of the sun from 1200 to 1600 solar radii. Unfortunately, we cannot say exactly how given star powerful and bright, because it is far from our planet. Regarding the history of the emergence and distance of RW, leading astrologers from different countries. Everything is due to the fact that in the constellation it regularly changes. Over time, it may disappear altogether. But it is still in the top of the largest celestial bodies.

The next in the ranking of the largest of famous stars KW Sagittarius is coming. According to ancient greek legend she appeared after the death of Perseus and Andromeda. This suggests that it was possible to detect this constellation long before our appearance. But unlike our ancestors, we know about more reliable data. It is known that the size of the stars exceeds the Sun by 1470 times. However, it is relatively close to our planet. KW is a bright star that changes its temperature over time.

At present, it is known for certain that the size of this large star exceeds the size of the Sun by at least 1430 times, but exact result hard to get because it is 5 thousand light years away from the planet. Even 13 years ago, American scientists cite completely different data. At that time, it was believed that KY Cygnus had a radius that raised the Sun by 2850 times. Now we have more reliable dimensions relative to this celestial body, which, for sure, are more accurate. Based on the name, you understand that the star is located in the constellation Cygnus.

A very large star included in the constellation Cepheus is V354, the size of which exceeds the Sun by 1530 times. Wherein heavenly body is relatively close to our planet, only 9 thousand light years away. It does not differ in special brightness and temperature against the background of other unique stars. However, it belongs to the number of variable luminaries, therefore, the dimensions may vary. It is likely that Cepheus will not last long at this position in the V354 rating. It will most likely decrease in size over time.

A few years ago, it was believed that this red giant could become a competitor for VY Canis Major. Moreover, some experts conditionally considered WHO G64 the largest known star in our Universe. Today, in an age of rapid development of technology, astrologers have managed to obtain more reliable data. It is now known that the radius of the Dorado is only 1550 times the size of the Sun. That's how huge errors are allowed in the field of astronomy. However, the incident is easily explained by distance. The star is outside the Milky Way. Namely, in a dwarf galaxy called the Huge Magellanic Cloud.

V838

One of the most unusual stars in the universe, located in the constellation Unicorn. It is located approximately 20 thousand light years from our planet. Even the fact that our specialists managed to find it is surprising. Luminary V838 is even larger than that of Mu Cephei. Accurate calculations relative to the dimensions, it is quite difficult to produce, due to the huge distance from the Earth. Speaking of approximate size data, they range from 1170 to 1900 solar radii.

There are many amazing stars in the constellation Cepheus, and Mu Cephei is considered a confirmation of this. One of the most big stars exceeds the size of the Sun by 1660 times. The supergiant is considered one of the brightest in the Milky Way. Approximately 37,000 times more powerful than the illumination of the star most known to us, that is, the Sun. Unfortunately, we cannot say unequivocally at what distance from our planet Mu Cephei is located.