The closest star to the Earth, which we call the Sun, is far from the largest. Despite the fact that mankind at the moment was able to explore only a small part of the Universe, exactly as many stars and other space objects as modern equipment can fix and study, it is already known for certain that there are much larger luminaries, in comparison with which the Sun looks like a cosmic speck of dust. The ten largest stars are known to every person interested in astronomy.
Despite the remoteness, for the most part they are perfectly visible in the night sky, because the powerful stream of light from them is capable of traveling huge distances. So, what are they - the largest stars of the universe known to man?
Super-giant constellation Scorpio Antares
Starting the story of the largest stars, you need to pay attention to the supergiant from the constellation Scorpio - the red star has a radius of approximately equal to 1200-1500, or slightly more, solar radii. More precise data yet. The distance of this object from the Earth is approximately 12 thousand St. years old. The object is visible in the sky with the naked eye.
Bright star of the constellation Cygnus
KY Swan also leads in size among the stars known to modern mankind. The distance from this object to the Earth is approximately 5 thousand light years.A star has its own oddities - its mass exceeds the solar mass only 25 times, and its radius along the equator is 1420 solar. This object emits a million times more light than the Sun, which also makes it very noticeable on the horizon.
Cepheus double star
VV Cepheus may remind astronomy-savvy people of another star, Algol. After all, it also represents a double eclipsing system - there is not a single luminary, but two, they rotate around each other. The system is located at a distance of about 5 thousand light-years, and its largest star has a radius of 1050-1900 solar equators, it is still impossible to more accurately estimate the size of a celestial object.
Vy big dog
If it is still difficult for mankind to say anything concrete about the entire Universe, then quite a lot can be said about the Milky Way galaxy, to which the solar system belongs. And the largest object here is known - VY Canis Major, which has a radius of 1300-1540 solar. This is an unstable celestial body, which, according to astronomers, should explode in the next 100 thousand years. An explosion of an object whose radius is so large that even light takes 8 hours to fly around it, will cause the strongest gamma-ray bursts that will spread over significant distances. But the object is 4 thousand light-years distant from Earth, which ensures safety for earthly life.
Variable star of the constellation Sagittarius
In the constellation Sagittarius there is a VX star, which is huge in size, and also pulsates.Subject to change is both the size of the celestial body and its temperature. In the expanded state, its diameter reaches 1520 solar. This is an interesting object to observe, which resembles a human heart with its behavior.
Red giant Westerland 1-26
This star is a supergiant, and if placed in the center of the solar system, it would reach the orbit of Jupiter with the edges of its photosphere. The heavenly body, located at 11,500 sv. years from Earth, has a size of approximately 1520-1540 radii of the Sun.
Giant constellation Golden Fish
The constellation Zolotaya Pisces also has a red supergiant called WOH G64. This star is located quite close to the solar system - and is the most massive object of a neighboring galaxy. The galaxy closest to the Milky Way is called the Magellanic Cloud, it is here that the huge star is located, at a distance of 163 thousand sv. The radius of the object is 1500-1700 solar, but it will soon become a supernova - scientists believe that it will last no more than several thousand years. An explosion of an object of this scale will be an interesting and noteworthy sight.
RW Cepheus
The huge red super giant is called RW Cepheus, being in the same constellation. This luminary has dimensions exceeding the radius of the Sun by 1636 times, while it is located at 2739 St. years from the solar system.
NML Swan
The hypergiant in the constellation Cygnus occupies the second position among all the stars known to mankind. The object is located 5300 light years from the solar system, its radius is 1650 solar.Scientists are closely watching this celestial body, which has a remarkable composition. Here not only hydrogen and helium are found, as in most other stars, but also water, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur oxide, and much more.
Biggest star in the universe
The hyper giant UY in the constellation Shield, which is located 9500 s. years from Earth - this is the largest of the stars known to mankind today. With a radius of 1708 solar, this celestial body is capable of producing 120,000 times more energy than the sun. However, in fact, this object is not too noticeable in the sky. Scientists point out that the star is surrounded by a gas-dust cloud that scatters its light. Perhaps around it is the process of planet formation - a few billion years ago, our sun was surrounded by a cloud of gas and dust, and the formation of the solar system took place.
Thus, there are stars hundreds of times larger than the Sun in comparison with which the star familiar to humanity looks tiny. However, it’s for the better - the proximity to large stars provides huge fluxes of radiation that would not give the chances of earthly life, destroying it even at the time of formation. Also, the proximity to large stars is a risk of the complete destruction of life at the time of the explosion, which occurs during the end of the heavenly body of its existence. Our planet is located most safely - away from large celestial bodies.
