Modern astronomy defines stars as huge plasma balls consisting of a red-hot mass. Mankind has always been interested in the question of what is the largest star in the Universe and what are its sizes. This rating includes the TOP 10 of the largest such objects known to mankind. However, it has a certain share of conventionality - there are probably even more large bodies in space, but we don’t know about them yet, and some of them are variable stars that can shrink and expand.
10. Mu Cepheus
One of the largest and most powerful stars in our Galaxy with a luminosity of 350 thousand times more than solar is rightfully included in the TOP ten stars of our rating. It is approximately 650-1420 larger than our star and its size makes it clear which largest star is huge. Mu Cepheus is able to accommodate up to 1 billion Suns and 2.7 quadrillion objects such as the Earth. If we imagine our planet in the form of an ordinary golf ball with a diameter of 4.3 cm, the width of this star on such a scale would be 5500 meters, which is two corresponding values of the Golden Gate Bridge. Mu Cephei is 60 thousand brighter than the Sun, and its bolometric luminosity exceeds 350 times the solar luminosity. At the same time, it belongs to the category of dying, since scientists have fixed irreversible processes of carbon synthesis on it.
9. V766 Centauri
In the ranking of the largest stars, yellow supergiants are also represented. The radius of the V766 Centauri is 1490 times larger in size than the Sun. The object has one distinctive feature - in fact, it is a double star along with HR 5171. Its “companion” is much smaller and is so close that it is practically in contact with a more massive star. They are located in the same constellation at a distance of about 12 thousand light years from the Sun.
8. AN Scorpio
Being a red supergiant with a radius of about 1,411 solar, the object confirms the assumption of what the largest star looks like and what it happens in size. 7.4 thousand light-years separate it from the Earth. The star is surrounded by a dust envelope, among its sources of microwave radiation are water and silicon oxide. During the observation period, they approached AN Scorpio at a speed of 13 km / s, which confirmed the ongoing compression process of the giant.
7. KY Swan
The hypergiant, thanks to a radius of 1,420 solar, has rightfully taken its place in the TOP 10 largest stars in the Universe. This is an asterisk of the border type and if it had less luminosity, then it would not belong to supergiants. Located 5 thousand light years from Earth. KY Swan is a very bright object that surpasses our star in this indicator at least 138 thousand times.
6. VX Sagittarius
Another red supergiant that is on the list of the largest. It belongs to the group of semi-regular variable stars, according to scientists it is gradually losing mass due to the influence of stellar wind. Big stars in the Universe, as a rule, are located at a huge distance from the Earth and VX Sagittarius was no exception - it is shared by our planet about 5250 light years. The radius of the giant star varies between 850-1940 solar, and its diameter probably exceeds the similar parameters of the asteroid belt of the solar system.
5. Westland 1-26
Red hypergiant located in the altar constellation. Discovered by the Swedish astronomer B. Westerlund in the star cluster system Westerlund 1. Everyone who wonders what the largest star is called needs to know that the luminosity of Westerland 1-26 exceeds the solar luminosity by 380 thousand times and its surface temperature exceeds 3000 K. In the ESO photo Westerlund 1 looks like one of the most massive open clusters in the galaxy.
4. RW Cepheus
Red hypergiant, whose name is given by the constellation Cepheus. It is located at a distance of 11.5 thousand light years from our planet. It is no coincidence that it enters the TOP 10 largest stars, since its radius is 1535 times greater than the solar one. The luminosity of this large object is 625 thousand times greater than that of the Sun. At the end of its existence, it can become a hypernova, and its core transforms into a black hole.
3. WON G64
The red supergiant constellation of the Golden Fish, the second largest star in the universe. Its estimated radius can reach at least 1540 solar. According to astrophysicists, this large object, included in the TOP of the largest stars, has lost up to 1/3 of its mass due to stellar wind. Using the Very Large Telescope complex located in Chile, we were able to obtain an image that helps to understand that the dust and gas around the WON G64 forms a torus, which reduces its luminosity to 280 thousand solar.
2. VY Canis Major
The hypergiant, well-known to astronomers, which is named after the constellation of the same name, reaches 1,600 solar radii in size. In this case, the mass of the object included in the list of the largest stars has only 17-fold superiority over the Sun, which confirms its extremely low density. The volume of the giant is 7.1015 time. Astrophysicists studying a star using the Hubble Space Telescope say that it will explode as a hypernova after 100 thousand years. The VY photo of Canis Majorus shows how a star emits large volumes of gas during an outburst.
1. UY Shield
A true super giant located in the constellation Shield. According to astronomers, its radius is 1708 solar, and the diameter reaches 2.4 billion km. The largest star in the Galaxy has a volume that exceeds the parameters of the Sun by 5 billion times. A star is defined as a red hypergiant of variable type with an approximate ripple period of 740 days. In the visible part of the spectrum, its luminosity exceeds the solar one by 120 thousand times; in the absence of cosmic dust accumulations, the UY Shield could enter the top five objects that can be viewed from the Earth with the naked eye.