The largest star in our galaxy. Mysteries of space: what is the name of the largest star

Living our lives on the satellite of a small star on the outskirts of the Universe, we cannot even imagine its true scope. The size of the Sun seems incredible to us, and a larger star simply does not fit into our imagination. What can we say about monster stars - super and hyper giants next to which our Sun is no larger than a speck of dust.

The star is located in the Altar Constellation, being the largest cosmic object in it. It was discovered by the Swedish astronomer Västerlund, after whom it was named in 1961.

Westerland 1-26 has a mass 35 times greater than the Sun. A brightness of 400,000. However, it is impossible to see the star with the naked eye due to its enormous distance from our planet, amounting to 13,500,000 light years. If you place Westerland in our solar system, its outer shell will engulf the orbit of Jupiter.

Giant from the Large Magellanic Cloud. The size of the star is almost 3 billion kilometers (1540 - 2000 solar radii), the distance to WOH G64 is 163 thousand light years. years.

The star has long been considered the largest, but recent studies have shown that its radius has decreased significantly, and according to some estimates for 2009, it was 1540 times the size of our star. Scientists suspect that a strong stellar wind is to blame.

UY Shield

In the Milky Way Constellation, and in the entire Universe known to mankind, this is the brightest and one of the largest stars. The distance of this red supergiant from Earth is 9,600 light years. The diameter changes quite actively (at least according to observations from Earth), so we can talk about an average of 1708 solar diameters.

The star belongs to the category of red supergiants, its luminosity exceeds that of the Sun by 120,000 times. The cosmic dust and gas that has accumulated around the star over billions of years of existence significantly reduces the luminosity of the star, so it is impossible to determine it more accurately.

Jupiter would be completely engulfed along with its orbit if the Sun were the size of UY Scuti. Oddly enough, for all its greatness, the star is only 10 times more massive than our star.

The star belongs to the class of binaries and is 5000 light years away from Earth. It is approximately 1700 times larger than our Sun in linear dimensions. VV Cephei A is considered one of the largest studied stars in our Galaxy.

The history of observations of it dates back to 1937. It was studied mainly by Russian astronomers. The studies revealed that the star darkens periodically once every 20 Earth years. In our Galaxy, it is considered one of the brightest stars. The mass of VV Cepheus A is approximately 80-100 times greater than that of the Sun.

The radius of the space object is 1535 times greater than the solar one, the mass is approximately 50. The brightness index of RW Cepheus is 650,000 times higher than that of the Sun. The surface temperature of the celestial object ranges from 3500 to 4200 K, depending on the intensity of thermonuclear reactions in the bowels of the star.

An extremely bright variable hypergiant from the constellation Sagittarius. VX Sagittarius pulsates in long irregular periods. This is the most studied supergiant star, its radius is 850 - 1940 solar and tends to decrease.

The distance from Earth to this yellow supergiant is 12,000 light years. The mass is equal to 39 solar masses (despite the fact that the mass of the star itself is 45 times greater than the mass of the Sun). The dimensions of V766 Centauri are amazing; it is 1490 times larger in diameter than our Sun.

The yellow giant is located in a system of two stars, representing a part of them. The location of the second star of this system is such that it touches V766 Centauri with its outer shell. The described object has a luminosity that is 1,000,000 times greater than that of the Sun.

According to some data, the largest star in the known Universe, its radius, according to some calculations, can reach 2850 solar. But more often it is accepted as 1420.

The mass of VY Canis Majoris is 17 times the mass of the Sun. The star was discovered at the beginning of the century before last. Later studies added information about all its main characteristics. The size of the star is so large that its flight around the equator takes eight light years.

The red giant is located in the constellation Canis Major. According to the latest scientific data, within the next 100 years the star will explode and turn into a supernova. The distance from our planet is approximately 4,500 light years, which in itself eliminates any danger from the explosion for humanity.

The diameter of this star, which belongs to the category of red supergiants, is approximately 1411 times the diameter of the Sun. The distance of AH Scorpius from our planet is 8900 light years.

The star is surrounded by a dense shell of dust, a fact confirmed by numerous photographs taken through telescopic observation. The processes occurring in the bowels of the star cause the variability of the star’s brightness.

The mass of AH Scorpius is equal to 16 solar masses, its diameter is 1200 times greater than that of the Sun. The maximum surface temperature is assumed to be 10,000 K, but this value is not fixed and can change in one direction or the other.

This star is also known as "Herschel's garnet star" after the astronomer who discovered it. It is located in the constellation Cepheus of the same name, is triple, and is 5600 light years away from Earth.

The main star of the system is MU Cephei A - a red supergiant, the radius of which, according to various estimates, is 1300-1650 times greater than the solar one. The mass of MU Cephei is 30 times greater than the Sun, the temperature at the surface is from 2000 to 2500 K. The luminosity of MU Cephei exceeds the Sun by more than 360,000 times.

This red supergiant belongs to the category of variable objects, located in the constellation Cygnus. The approximate distance from the Sun is 5500 light years.

The radius of BI Cygni is approximately 916-1240 solar radii. It has a mass 20 times greater than our star and a luminosity of 25,0000 times. The temperature of the upper layer of this space object is from 3500 to 3800 K. According to recent studies, the temperature on the surface of the star varies greatly due to intense thermonuclear reactions of the interior. During the period of greatest bursts of thermonuclear activity, the surface temperature can reach 5500 K.

A supergiant discovered in 1872, which becomes a hypergiant during maximum pulsation. The distance to S Perseus is 2420 parsecs, the pulsation radius is from 780 to 1230 r.s.

This red supergiant belongs to the category of irregular, variable objects with unpredictable pulsations. Located in the constellation Cepheus, 10,500 light years away. It is 45 times more massive than the Sun, its radius is 1500 times that of the Sun, which in digital terms is approximately 1,100,000,000 kilometers.

If we conventionally placed V354 Cephei at the center of the Solar System, Saturn would be located inside its surface.

This red giant is also a variable star. A semi-regular, fairly bright object is located about 9600 light years from our planet.

The radius of the star is within 1190-1940 solar radii. The mass is 30 times greater. The surface temperature of the object is 3700 K, the luminosity index of the star exceeds that of the Sun by 250,000 - 280,000 times.

The largest known star. At a temperature of 2300 K, its radius increases to 2775 solar, which is almost a third greater than any star known to us.

In the normal state, this figure is 1183.

The space object is located in the constellation Cygnus and belongs to the red variable supergiants. The average distance from our planet, according to astronomers, is from 4600 to 5800 light years. The estimated radius of the celestial object ranges from 856 to 1553 solar radii. This range of indicators is caused by different levels of pulsation of the star in different periods of time.

The mass of BC Cygnus is from 18 to 22 solar mass units. The surface temperature is from 2900 to 3700 K, the luminosity value is approximately 150,000 times higher than the sun.

This well-studied supergiant, classified as a variable star, is located in the Carina Nebula. The approximate distance of the space object from the Sun is 8500 light years.

Estimates of the red giant's radius vary significantly, ranging from 1090 times the radius of our star. The mass is 16 times greater than the mass of the Sun, the surface temperature is 3700-3900 K. The average luminosity of a star is from 130,000 to 190,000 solar.

This red giant is located in the constellation Centaurus, its distance from our planet, according to various estimates, is from 8,500 to 10,000 light years. To date, the object has been studied relatively little, and there is little information about it. It is only known that the radius of V396 Centauri exceeds that of the Sun by approximately 1070 times. Presumably the temperature on the surface of the star is also estimated. According to rough estimates, it is in the range of 3800 – 45,000 K.

CK Carinae belongs to the so-called “variable” stellar objects, located in the constellation Carinae, at a distance of approximately 7500 light years from our planet. Its radius is 1060 times greater than the Sun. Astronomers have calculated that if this object were located at the center of the solar system, the planet Mars would be on its surface.

The star has a mass exceeding the mass of the Sun by about 25 times. Luminosity – 170,000 Suns, surface temperature at 3550 K.

The star is a red supergiant whose mass is from 10 to 20 solar masses. Located in the constellation Sagittarius, the distance of the celestial body from our planet is 20,000 light years. The radius, according to maximum estimates, is approximately 1460 solar.

Its luminosity is 250,000 times greater than that of the sun. Surface temperature is from 3500 to 4000 K.

Life on our entire planet depends on the Sun, and sometimes we don't realize that there are actually many other galaxies in and within the Universe. And our almighty Sun is just a small star among billions of other luminaries. Our article will tell you the name of the largest star in the world that can still be grasped by the human mind. Perhaps beyond its borders, in hitherto unexplored worlds, there exist even more gigantic stars of immense size...

Measure stars in Suns

Before we talk about the name of the largest star, let us clarify that the size of stars is usually measured in solar radii; its size is 696,392 kilometers. Many of the stars in our galaxy are in many ways larger than the Sun. Most of them belong to the class of red supergiants - large massive stars with a dense hot core and a rarefied envelope. Their temperature is noticeably lower than the temperature of blue ones - 8000-30,000 K (on the Kelvin scale) and 2000-5000 K, respectively. Red stars are called cold, although in fact their temperature is slightly lower than the maximum in the core of our Earth (6000 K).

Most celestial objects do not have constant parameters (including size), but rather are in constant change. Such stars are called variables - their sizes change regularly. This can happen for various reasons. Some variable stars are actually a system of several bodies exchanging mass, others pulsate due to internal physical processes, contracting and expanding again.

What is the name of the largest star in the Universe?

It is located at a distance of 9.5 thousand light years from the Sun. It appeared on star maps at the end of the 17th century, thanks to the Polish astronomer Jan Hevelius. And two hundred years later, German astronomers from the Bonn Observatory added the star UY Scuti (U-Igrek) to the catalog. And already in our time, in 2012, it was established that UY Scuti is the largest known star within the studied Universe.

The radius of UY Scuti is about 1700 times greater than the radius of the Sun. This red hypergiant is a variable star, which means its size can reach even larger values. During periods of maximum expansion, the radius of the UY Scutum is 1900 solar radii. The volume of this star can be compared to a sphere, the radius of which would be the distance from the center of the Solar system to Jupiter.

Giants of the Cosmos: what are the largest stars called?

The neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, is home to the second largest star in space studied. Its name cannot be called particularly memorable - WOH G64, but you can take note that it is located in the constellation Doradus, constantly visible in the southern hemisphere. It is slightly smaller in size than UY Scutum - about 1500 solar radii. But it has an interesting shape - the accumulation of a rarefied shell around the core forms a spherical shape, but rather resembles a donut or bagel. Scientifically, this shape is called a torus.

According to another version, as the largest star after UY Scutum is called, VY Canis Majoris is in the lead. It is believed that its radius is 1420 solar. But the surface of VY Canis Majoris is too rarefied - the Earth’s atmosphere is several thousand times denser than it. Due to difficulties in determining what is the actual surface of the star and what is its accompanying shell, scientists cannot come to a final conclusion regarding the size of VY Canis Majoris.

The heaviest stars

If we consider not the radius, but the mass of the celestial body, then the largest star is called a set of letters and numbers in encryption - R136a1. It is also located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, but is a type of blue star. Its mass corresponds to 315 solar masses. For comparison, the mass of UY Shield is only 7-10 solar masses.

Another massive formation is called Eta Carinae - a double giant star in the 19th century, as a result of an explosion around this system, a nebula was formed, named Homunculus because of its strange shape. The mass of Eta Carinae is 150-250 solar masses.

The largest stars in the night sky

Hiding in the depths of space, giant stars are inaccessible to the eye of the common man - most often they can only be seen through a telescope. At night, in the starry sky, the brightest objects closest to the Earth - be they stars or planets - will appear large to us.

What is the name of the largest star in the sky and at the same time the brightest? This is Sirius, which is one of the stars closest to Earth. In fact, in size and mass it is not particularly larger than the Sun - only one and a half to two times. But its brightness is really much greater - 22 times greater than that of the Sun.

Another bright and therefore seemingly large object in the night sky is actually not a star, but a planet. We are talking about Venus, whose brightness is in many ways superior to other stars. Its shine is visible closer to sunrise or some time after sunset.

In our galaxy. This is associated with huge distances in space and the complexity of observations with subsequent analysis of the data obtained. To date, scientists have been able to discover and register approximately 50 billion stars. More advanced technology makes it possible to explore remote corners of space and obtain new information about objects.

Assessment and search for supergiants in space

Modern astrophysics in the process of space exploration is constantly faced with a large number of questions. The reason for this is the gigantic size of the visible Universe, about fourteen billion light years. Sometimes, when observing a star, it is quite difficult to estimate the distance to it. Therefore, before you set out on a quest to determine which is the largest star in our galaxy, it is necessary to understand the level of difficulty in observing space objects.

Previously, until the beginning of the twentieth century, it was believed that our galaxy was one. Visible other galaxies were classified as nebulae. But Edwin Hubble dealt a crushing blow to the ideas of the scientific world. He argued that there are a lot of galaxies, and ours is not the largest.

Space is incredibly huge

The distances to the nearest galaxies are enormous. Reach hundreds of millions of years. It is quite problematic for astrophysicists to determine which is the largest star in our galaxy.

Therefore, it is even more difficult to talk about other galaxies with trillions of stars, at a distance of a hundred or more million light years. During the research process, new objects are discovered. The discovered stars are compared and the most unique and largest are determined.

Supergiant in the constellation Scutum

The name of the largest star in our galaxy is UY Scuti, a red supergiant. This is a variable that varies from 1700 to 2000 solar diameters.

Our brain is not able to imagine such quantities. Therefore, to fully understand the size of the largest star in the galaxy, it is necessary to compare it with values ​​that are understandable to us. Our solar system is suitable for comparison. The size of the star is so large that if it were placed in the place of our Sun, the boundary of the supergiant would be in the orbit of Saturn.

And our planet and Mars will be inside the star. The distance to this “monster” of space is about 9600 light years.

The largest star in the galaxy - UY Scuti - can only conditionally be considered a “king”. The reasons are obvious. One of them is the vast distances in space and cosmic dust, which make it difficult to obtain accurate data. Another problem is directly related to the physical properties of supergiants. With a diameter 1,700 times larger than our celestial body, the largest star in our galaxy is only 7-10 times more massive. It turns out that the density of the supergiant is millions of times less than the air around us. Its density is comparable to the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of about one hundred kilometers above sea level. Therefore, it is quite problematic to determine exactly where the boundaries of a star end and its “wind” begins.

At the moment, the largest star in our galaxy is at the end of its development cycle. It expanded (the same process will happen to our Sun at the end of evolution) and began actively burning helium and a number of other elements heavier than hydrogen. After a few million years, the largest star in the galaxy - UY Scuti - will turn into a yellow supergiant. And later - into a bright blue variable, and possibly into a Wolf-Rayet star.

Along with the “king” - the supergiant UY Scuti - about ten stars with similar sizes can be noted. These include VY Canis Majoris, Cepheus A, NML Cygnus, WOH G64 VV and several others.

It is known that all the largest stars are short-lived and very unstable. Such stars can exist for millions of years or several thousand years, ending their life cycle in the form of a supernova or black hole.

The biggest star in the galaxy: the search continues

Observing the major changes over the past twenty years, it is worth assuming that over time our understanding of the possible parameters of supergiants will differ from previously known ones. And it is quite possible that in the coming years another supergiant will be discovered, with a greater mass or size. And new discoveries will prompt scientists to revise previously accepted dogmas and definitions.

The seemingly inconspicuous UY Shield

In terms of stars, modern astrophysics seems to be reliving its infancy. Star observations provide more questions than answers. Therefore, when asking which star is the largest in the Universe, you need to be immediately prepared for answering questions. Are you asking about the largest star known to science, or about what limits science limits a star? As is usually the case, in both cases you will not get a clear answer. The most likely candidate for the biggest star quite equally shares the palm with its “neighbors.” How much smaller it may be than the real “king of the star” also remains open.

Comparison of the sizes of the Sun and the star UY Scuti. The Sun is an almost invisible pixel to the left of UY Scutum.

With some reservations, the supergiant UY Scuti can be called the largest star observed today. Why “with reservation” will be stated below. UY Scuti is 9,500 light-years away from us and is observed as a faint variable star, visible in a small telescope. According to astronomers, its radius exceeds 1,700 solar radii, and during the pulsation period this size can increase to as much as 2,000.

It turns out that if such a star were placed in the place of the Sun, the current orbits of a terrestrial planet would be in the depths of a supergiant, and the boundaries of its photosphere would at times abut the orbit. If we imagine our Earth as a grain of buckwheat, and the Sun as a watermelon, then the diameter of the UY Shield will be comparable to the height of the Ostankino TV tower.

To fly around such a star at the speed of light it will take as much as 7-8 hours. Let us remember that the light emitted by the Sun reaches our planet in just 8 minutes. If you fly at the same speed as one revolution around the Earth takes one and a half hours, then the flight around UY Scuti will last about 36 years. Now let’s imagine these scales, taking into account that the ISS flies 20 times faster than a bullet and tens of times faster than passenger airliners.

Mass and luminosity of UY Scuti

It is worth noting that such a monstrous size of the UY Shield is completely incomparable with its other parameters. This star is “only” 7-10 times more massive than the Sun. It turns out that the average density of this supergiant is almost a million times lower than the density of the air around us! For comparison, the density of the Sun is one and a half times higher than the density of water, and a grain of matter even “weighs” millions of tons. Roughly speaking, the averaged matter of such a star is similar in density to a layer of atmosphere located at an altitude of about one hundred kilometers above sea level. This layer, also called the Karman line, is the conventional boundary between the earth's atmosphere and space. It turns out that the density of the UY Shield is only slightly short of the vacuum of space!

Also UY Scutum is not the brightest. With its own luminosity of 340,000 solar, it is tens of times dimmer than the brightest stars. A good example is the star R136, which, being the most massive star known today (265 solar masses), is almost nine million times brighter than the Sun. Moreover, the star is only 36 times larger than the Sun. It turns out that R136 is 25 times brighter and about the same number of times more massive than UY Scuti, despite the fact that it is 50 times smaller than the giant.

Physical parameters of UY Shield

Overall, UY Scuti is a pulsating variable red supergiant of spectral class M4Ia. That is, on the Hertzsprung-Russell spectrum-luminosity diagram, UY Scuti is located in the upper right corner.

At the moment, the star is approaching the final stages of its evolution. Like all supergiants, it began actively burning helium and some other heavier elements. According to modern models, in a matter of millions of years, UY Scuti will successively transform into a yellow supergiant, then into a bright blue variable or Wolf-Rayet star. The final stages of its evolution will be a supernova explosion, during which the star will shed its shell, most likely leaving behind a neutron star.

Already now, UY Scuti is showing its activity in the form of semi-regular variability with an approximate pulsation period of 740 days. Considering that the star can change its radius from 1700 to 2000 solar radii, the speed of its expansion and contraction is comparable to the speed of spaceships! Its mass loss is at an impressive rate of 58 million solar masses per year (or 19 Earth masses per year). This is almost one and a half Earth masses per month. Thus, being on the main sequence millions of years ago, UY Scuti could have had a mass of 25 to 40 solar masses.

Giants among the stars

Returning to the disclaimer stated above, we note that the primacy of UY Scuti as the largest known star cannot be called unambiguous. The fact is that astronomers still cannot determine the distance to most stars with a sufficient degree of accuracy, and therefore estimate their sizes. In addition, large stars are usually very unstable (remember the pulsation of UY Scuti). Likewise, they have a rather blurry structure. They may have a fairly extensive atmosphere, opaque shells of gas and dust, disks, or a large companion star (for example, VV Cephei, see below). It is impossible to say exactly where the boundary of such stars lies. After all, the established concept of the boundary of stars as the radius of their photosphere is already extremely arbitrary.

Therefore, this number can include about a dozen stars, which include NML Cygnus, VV Cephei A, VY Canis Majoris, WOH G64 and some others. All these stars are located in the vicinity of our galaxy (including its satellites) and are in many ways similar to each other. All of them are red supergiants or hypergiants (see below for the difference between super and hyper). Each of them will turn into a supernova in a few millions, or even thousands of years. They are also similar in size, lying in the range of 1400-2000 solar.

Each of these stars has its own peculiarity. So in UY Scutum this feature is the previously mentioned variability. WOH G64 has a toroidal gas-dust envelope. Extremely interesting is the double eclipsing variable star VV Cephei. It is a close system of two stars, consisting of the red hypergiant VV Cephei A and the blue main sequence star VV Cephei B. The centra of these stars are located from each other at some 17-34 . Considering that the radius of VV Cepheus B can reach 9 AU. (1900 solar radii), the stars are located at “arm’s length” from each other. Their tandem is so close that whole pieces of the hypergiant flow at enormous speeds onto the “little neighbor”, which is almost 200 times smaller than it.

Looking for a leader

Under such conditions, estimating the size of stars is already problematic. How can we talk about the size of a star if its atmosphere flows into another star, or smoothly turns into a disk of gas and dust? This is despite the fact that the star itself consists of very rarefied gas.

Moreover, all the largest stars are extremely unstable and short-lived. Such stars can live for a few millions, or even hundreds of thousands of years. Therefore, when observing a giant star in another galaxy, you can be sure that a neutron star is now pulsating in its place or a black hole is bending space, surrounded by the remnants of a supernova explosion. Even if such a star is thousands of light years away from us, one cannot be completely sure that it still exists or remains the same giant.

Let us add to this the imperfection of modern methods for determining the distance to stars and a number of unspecified problems. It turns out that even among a dozen known largest stars, it is impossible to identify a specific leader and arrange them in order of increasing size. In this case, UY Shield was cited as the most likely candidate to lead the Big Ten. This does not mean at all that his leadership is undeniable and that, for example, NML Cygnus or VY Canis Majoris cannot be greater than her. Therefore, different sources may answer the question about the largest known star in different ways. This speaks less of their incompetence than of the fact that science cannot give unambiguous answers even to such direct questions.

Largest in the Universe

If science does not undertake to single out the largest among the discovered stars, how can we talk about which star is the largest in the Universe? Scientists estimate that the number of stars, even within the observable Universe, is ten times greater than the number of grains of sand on all the beaches of the world. Of course, even the most powerful modern telescopes can see an unimaginably smaller portion of them. It will not help in the search for a “stellar leader” that the largest stars can stand out for their luminosity. Whatever their brightness, it will fade when observing distant galaxies. Moreover, as noted earlier, the brightest stars are not the largest (for example, R136).

Let us also remember that when observing a large star in a distant galaxy, we will actually see its “ghost”. Therefore, it is not easy to find the largest star in the Universe; searching for it will simply be pointless.

Hypergiants

If the largest star is practically impossible to find, maybe it’s worth developing it theoretically? That is, to find a certain limit after which the existence of a star can no longer be a star. However, even here modern science faces a problem. The modern theoretical model of evolution and physics of stars does not explain much of what actually exists and is observed in telescopes. An example of this is hypergiants.

Astronomers have repeatedly had to raise the bar for the limit of stellar mass. This limit was first introduced in 1924 by the English astrophysicist Arthur Eddington. Having obtained a cubic dependence of the luminosity of stars on their mass. Eddington realized that a star cannot accumulate mass indefinitely. The brightness increases faster than the mass, and this will sooner or later lead to a violation of hydrostatic equilibrium. The light pressure of increasing brightness will literally blow away the outer layers of the star. The limit calculated by Eddington was 65 solar masses. Subsequently, astrophysicists refined his calculations by adding unaccounted components and using powerful computers. So the current theoretical limit for the mass of stars is 150 solar masses. Now remember that R136a1 has a mass of 265 solar masses, almost twice the theoretical limit!

R136a1 is the most massive star currently known. In addition to it, several other stars have significant masses, the number of which in our galaxy can be counted on one hand. Such stars were called hypergiants. Note that R136a1 is significantly smaller than stars that, it would seem, should be lower in class - for example, the supergiant UY Scuti. This is because it is not the largest stars that are called hypergiants, but the most massive ones. For such stars, a separate class was created on the spectrum-luminosity diagram (O), located above the class of supergiants (Ia). The exact initial mass of a hypergiant has not been established, but, as a rule, their mass exceeds 100 solar masses. None of the Big Ten's biggest stars measure up to those limits.

Theoretical dead end

Modern science cannot explain the nature of the existence of stars whose mass exceeds 150 solar masses. This raises the question of how one can determine the theoretical limit on the size of stars if the radius of a star, unlike mass, is itself a vague concept.

Let us take into account the fact that it is not known exactly what the stars of the first generation were like, and what they will be like during the further evolution of the Universe. Changes in the composition and metallicity of stars can lead to radical changes in their structure. Astrophysicists have yet to comprehend the surprises that further observations and theoretical research will present to them. It is quite possible that UY Scuti may turn out to be a real crumb against the background of a hypothetical “king star” that shines somewhere or will shine in the farthest corners of our Universe.

>> The largest star in the Universe

UY Scuti is the largest star in the Universe: description and characteristics of the star with photo, location in the constellation, distance from the Earth, list of the largest stars.

It's easy to feel tiny when looking at the night sky. You just need to select an object for comparison. How about a star? Just look into the territory of the Scutum constellation and you will find the largest star in our galaxy and visible Universe - UY Scutum.

In 1860, the star was found by German scientists at the Bonn Observatory. But only in 2012 it was possible to conduct a survey with the Very Large Telescope (Atacama Desert). Since its discovery, it has become the largest star in size, surpassing Betelgeuse, VY Canis Majoris and NML Cygnus.

Of course, there are record holders for brightness and density, but UY Scuti has the largest overall size, with a radius of 1,054,378,000 - 1,321,450,000 miles, which is 1,700 times the Sun.

People think that the Earth is huge. But let's take an 8-inch ball. Then, in terms of scale, the Sun will be 73 feet in diameter, which is greater than the height of the White House. Now let's put UY Shield next to it and get a diameter of 125,000 feet.

What happens if you put UY Scutum in the solar position? The star will dine on the first five planets and leave the orbital path of Jupiter. But many people think that it is even capable of crossing the orbit of Saturn.

Well, let’s be glad that the star is still not located in the Solar System and is 9500 light years away.

It is important to emphasize that with the improvement of terrestrial instruments, we are discovering new objects that are distant over long distances. This means that one day we may come across an even bigger star.

It is worth noting that the largest known stars are represented here, since many objects remain outside the field of view. Also, some of these are variables, which means they are constantly compressing and expanding. Now you know what the biggest star in space is. Let's look at the rest of the ten biggest stars in the universe:

List of the largest stars in the Universe

The radius of the red supergiant VY Canis Majoris reaches 1800-2100 solar, making it the largest in the galaxy. If placed in place, it would cover the orbital path. Located 3900 light years away in the constellation Canis Major.

It is a red supergiant, 1000 times the radius of the Sun. Located 6000 light years away. Represented by a binary system where the main star is accompanied by a small blue one.

Mu Cephei

Mu Cephei is a red supergiant whose radius is 1,650 times larger than the Sun's and 38,000 times brighter.

V 838 Monoceros is a red variable star located 20,000 light years away. It can reach the size of Mu Cephei or VV Cepheus A, but the large distance makes it difficult to determine accurately. The range covers 380-1970 solar radii.

A red supergiant that is 1540 times larger than the solar radius. Located in the constellation Dorado.

V354 Cephei

A red supergiant, 1520 times the solar radius. Located 9000 light years away in the constellation Cepheus.

KY Swan

1420 times larger than the solar radius, although some estimates put the figure at 2850 times. The star is located 5,000 light years away and has not yet been able to obtain a clear image.

KW Sagittarius

The red supergiant is 1,460 times larger in radius than the Sun. Located 7800 light years away.

RW Cepheus

A red supergiant with a radius of 1600 solar. From the position of the Sun, it could reach the orbital path of Jupiter.

A red supergiant whose radius is 1000 times greater than the Sun. This is the most popular star, as it is located quite close (640 light years) in . It can transform into a supernova at any moment.