What is VY Canis Majoris?
The largest known star is VY Canis Majoris, a red hypergiant measuring between 1800 to 2100 solar radii. Its volume is almost a billion times that of the Sun, though its density is much less. Canis Majoris means big dog in Latin. If it were located in the solar system, its surface would reach all the way out to the orbit of Saturn. Another way of saying this is that VY Canis Majoris is about 9 astronomical units (AUs) wide, nine times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. There must be larger stars located in other galaxies, but we presently lack telescopes powerful enough to resolve them. Hypertelescopes may help in this regard. VY Canis Majoris is a star in its final death throes. It is ejecting massive amounts of material into a surrounding nebula that makes the star blocked in the visible spectrum. It must be observed in the infrared portion of the spectrum. VY Canis Majoris’ death nebula is ~4500 AU in width, about fifty times larger than the star itself and much larger than
The largest known star is VY Canis Majoris, a red hypergiant between 900 and 1050 solar diameters across. Its volume is almost a billion times that of the Sun, though its density is much less. Canis Majoris means big dog in Latin. If it were located in the solar system, its surface would reach all the way out to the orbit of Saturn. Another way of saying this is that VY Canis Majoris is about 9 astronomical units (AUs) wide, nine times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. There must be larger stars located in other galaxies, but we presently lack telescopes powerful enough to resolve them. Hypertelescopes may help in this regard. VY Canis Majoris is a star in its final death throes. It is ejecting massive amounts of material into a surrounding nebula that makes the star blocked in the visible spectrum. It must be observed in the infrared portion of the spectrum. VY Canis Majoris’ death nebula is ~4500 AU in width, about fifty times larger than the star itself and much larger tha
