List of largest known stars
Below is a list of the largest known stars by radius. The unit of measurement used is the radius of the Sun (approximately 695,500 kilometers, or 432,450 miles).
The exact order of this list is not complete yet, nor is it perfectly defined:
- There are sometimes high uncertainties in derived values and sizes.
- The distances to most of these stars are uncertain to differing degrees and this uncertainty affects the size measurements.
- Several large stars have extended atmospheres, are embedded in mostly opaque dust shells or disks, and pulsate, such that determining their radii is not well defined. Estimates for VV Cephei A are especially uncertain.[1][foot 1]
List
List of the largest stars
| Star name |
Solar radii
(Sun = 1) |
Notes |
| VY Canis Majoris |
1,800–2,100 |
Once thought to be a star so large that it contradicted stellar evolutionary theory, improved measurements have brought it down to size[2] |
| VV Cephei A |
1,600[1][3]–1,900[1][foot 1] |
| V838 Monocerotis |
1,570 ± 400 [4] |
| Mu Cephei (Herschel's "Garnet Star") |
1,650[5] |
| WOH G64 |
1,540[6] |
| V354 Cephei |
1,520[5] |
| KY Cygni |
1,420–2,850 [5] |
| KW Sagittarii |
1,460[5] |
| RW Cephei |
1,260–1,610 |
| Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) |
1,180[7][8] |
| VX Sagittarii |
832-1,200 |
| Antares (Alpha Scorpii) |
800[foot 2] |
| V382 Carinae |
747 |
| S Pegasi |
580[9] |
| W Hydrae |
562[10] |
| T Cephei |
540[11] |
| S Orionis |
530[12] |
| R Cassiopeiae |
500[13] |
| R Leporis |
500 |
| R Andromedae |
485 ± 125 |
| Chi Cygni |
470[14] |
| Alpha Herculis (Ras Algethi) |
460 |
| R Hydrae |
460 |
| Rho Cassiopeiae |
450 |
| 119 Tauri ("Ruby Star")[15] |
450[16] |
| Mira A (Omicron Ceti) |
400[17] |
| V509 Cassiopeiae |
400[18]–900[19] |
| S Doradus |
100–380[20] |
| U Orionis |
370±96 |
| R Doradus |
370 |
| HR Carinae |
350 |
| R Leonis |
350[21] |
| Nu Aquilae |
350 |
| V337 Carinae |
350 |
| The Pistol Star |
340 |
| S Coronae Borealis |
340 |
| V381 Cephei |
327 |
| Pi Puppis (Ahadi) |
290 |
| Delta Lyrae |
275 |
| Psi Aurigae |
271 |
| CW Leonis |
250 |
| Cygnus OB2-12 |
244 |
| Omicron Canis Majoris |
231 |
| Gamma Cygni (Sadir) |
225 |
| La Superba (Y Canum Venaticorum) |
215 |
| Delta Canis Majoris (Wezen) |
215±66[22] |
| V810 Centauri |
210 |
| Zeta Aurigae (Haedus) |
200[23] |
| Lambda Velorum |
200 |
| RS Puppis |
200 |
| Eta Carinae |
85–195[24] |
Previously thought to be the most massive single star, but in 2005 it was realised to be a binary system |
| L Carinae |
179 |
| 6 Cassiopeiae |
170 |
| Rho Persei |
164 |
| Epsilon Carinae |
153 |
| LBV 1806-20 |
150 |
| Epsilon Pegasi (Enif) |
150 |
| Epsilon Geminorum (Mebsuta) |
150 |
| Epsilon Aurigae A (Almaaz) |
135 |
| Mu Boötis (Alkalurops) |
130 |
| 66 Andromedae |
130 |
| QS Aquilae |
130 |
| NO Aurigae |
130 |
| 56 Aquilae |
130 |
| L Puppis |
126 |
| Iota Scorpii |
125 |
| Delta Apodis |
125 |
| HIP 110307 |
124.1 |
| 32 G. Hydrae |
121.7 |
| Iota Carinae |
120 |
| Xi Puppis (Asmidiske) |
120 |
| Mu Sagittarii |
115 |
| Omicron Cygni |
115 |
| Deneb |
114 |
| V533 Carinae (VV Storm) |
114 |
| Gamma Crucis (Gacrux) |
113[25] |
| Zeta Cephei |
110 |
| Gamma Aquilae (Tarazed) |
110 |
| 34 Boötis |
110 |
| Beta Arae |
110 |
| Atria (Alpha Trianguli Australis) |
109 |
| Peony Nebula Star |
100 |
| Beta Pegasi (Scheat) |
95 |
| 17 Camelopardalis |
91.3 |
| Beta Andromedae (Mirach) |
90 |
| R Scuti |
87.4 |
| Nu Cephei |
83.5 |
| Gamma Andromedae |
83 |
| Theta Herculis |
80 |
| Var 83 |
80 |
| Rigel (Beta Orionis) |
78 |
| Alpha Leporis (Arneb) |
77 |
| P Cygni |
76 |
| Beta Doradus |
76 |
| DL Crucis |
75-80 |
| Pi Herculis |
72 |
| 13 Boötis |
71 |
| R Leporis |
70.4 |
| 62 Sagittarii |
70 |
| R Coronae Borealis |
65 |
| Canopus (Alpha Carinae) |
65 |
| Delta Virginis (Auva) |
65 |
| Delta Sagittarii |
62 |
| Delta Orionis (Mintaka) |
60 |
| Alpha Persei (Mirfak) |
60 |
| Zeta Geminorum (Mekbuda) |
60 |
| Eta Aquilae (Bezek) |
60 |
| 89 Herculis |
60 |
| Upsilon Sagittarii |
60 |
| Alpha Aquarii (Sadalmelik) |
60 |
| CPD -572874 |
60 |
| Chi Orionis |
59 |
| Alpha Persei (Mirfak) |
56 |
| Iota Aurigae (Al Kab) |
55 |
| FF Aquilae |
55 |
| Alpha Apodis |
55 |
| Tau Serpentis |
54 |
| Beta Cancri (Tarf) |
53 |
| Alpha Antliae |
53 |
| Zeta¹ Scorpii |
52 |
| Alphard (Alpha Hydrae) |
50.5 |
| Gamma Draconis (Eltanin) |
50 |
| Beta Aquarii (Sadalsuud) |
50 |
| HD 5980 A |
48-160 |
| Epsilon Boötis (Izar) |
48 |
| Zeta² Scorpii |
48 |
| AG Antliae |
47 |
| V428 Andromedae |
46.3 |
| HD 13189 |
46 |
| HD 203857 |
46 |
| Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) |
44.2[26] |
| Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris) |
43.9 |
| Alpha Cassiopeiae (Schedar) |
42 |
| Alpha Ceti (Menkar) |
42 |
| Delta Cephei (Alrediph) |
41.6 |
| Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) |
41 |
| Beta Draconis (Rastaban) |
40 |
| BD Camelopardalis |
40 |
| HD 5980 B |
40 |
| Eta Canis Majoris (Aludra) |
37.8 |
| 87 Leonis |
37 |
| Gamma Centauri (Muhlifan) |
36.5 |
| S Normae |
35.6 |
| R136a1 |
35.4 |
Also on record as the most massive star known. |
| Sher 25 |
35 |
| Gamma Leonis (Algieba) |
31.9 |
| Alpha Camelopardalis |
31.2 |
| Alpha Ursae Majoris (Dubhe) |
30 |
| 11 Lacertae |
30 |
| Beta Camelopardalis |
30 |
| Cygnus OB2-8 |
28 |
| Eta Leonis |
27 |
| QPM-241 (Archen Star) |
27 |
| R Apodis |
26.3 |
| Epsilon Orionis (Alnilam) |
26 |
| Eta Piscium |
26 |
| Melnick 42 |
26 |
| Arcturus (Alpha Boötis) |
25.7 |
| HD 93129A |
25 |
| 11 Ursae Minoris |
24.1 |
| HD 47536 |
23.5 |
| Epsilon Leonis (Algenubi) |
23 |
| 42 Draconis |
22 ± 1 |
| Alpha Reticuli |
21 |
| Chi Virginis |
20.9 |
| 19 Cephei |
20–30 |
| HDE226868 |
20-22 |
The supergiant companion of Cygnus X-1 |
| Zeta Orionis (Alnitak) |
20 |
| Theta Scorpii (Sargas) |
20 |
| Beta Herculis (Kornephoros) |
20 |
| Theta Apodis |
20 |
| Alpha Sagittae |
20 |
| Westerlund 2 |
19.3 |
| HR 2422 Monocerotis (Plaskett's Star) |
19.2 |
| Kappa Cassiopeiae |
19 |
| Beta Scorpii (Acrab) |
19 |
| Beta Lyrae (Sheliak) |
19 |
| Zeta Puppis (Naos) |
18.6 |
| R 122 |
18.5 |
| HD 93250 |
18 |
| Alpha Microscopii |
17.5 |
| LH45-425 A |
17.5 |
| Upsilon Hydrae |
17.1 |
| Beta Ceti (Deneb Kaitos) |
17 |
| Epsilon Canis Majoris (Adhara) |
17 |
| LY Aurigae |
16 |
| Theta Centauri (Menkent) |
16 |
| Beta Corvi (Kraz) |
16 |
| Beta Cygni A1 (Albireo) |
16 |
| Nu Ophiuchi (Sinistra) |
15.25 |
| Alpha Arietis (Hamal) |
15 |
| Gamma Cassiopeiae (Tsih) |
14 |
| Beta Ophiuchi |
13.2 |
| 37 Aquilae |
13 |
| HD 240210 |
13 |
| Alpha Aurigae A (Capella A) |
12.2 |
| Xi Aquilae |
12 |
| Gamma Arae |
12 |
| Gamma Sagittarii (Alnasl) |
11 |
| LH45-425 B |
10 |
| VV Cephei B |
10 |
See also
- ^ a b Size, mass and luminosity estimates of the VV Cephei system are all considerably uncertain due to insufficient knowledge: Professor Kaler writes "in truth we really do not know". Its distance cannot be measured from parallax, instead it is derived from its assumed membership in the Cepheus OB2 association, but this is also not certain. Other methods give a range of sizes between 1,000 and 2,200 that of the Sun, but these too are confounded by the fact that the star is not spherical, which leads to overestimates. (J. Kaler)
- ^ approximately 800, derived from the 1990 lunar occultation measurement of apparent diameter of 43.1 milliarcsec (up to ±1 milliarcsec error) (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1990A&A...230..355R page 361) together with 1997 parallax of 5.40 [1.68] milliarcsec (SIMBAD citing Hipparcos). The parallax gives a derived distance from 460 to 877 light years. This in turn yields an actual diameter from 653 to 1,246 solar radius. An average of 800 is used here.
Notes
- ^ a b c Professor James B. (Jim) Kaler. "VV CEP (VV Cephei)". University of Illinois. http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/vvcep.html. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ Y. K. Choi; Hirota; Honma; Kobayashi; Bushimata; Imai; Iwadate; Jike et al. (2008). "Distance to VY VMa with VERA". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (Publications Astronomical Society of Japan) 60: 1007. Bibcode 2008PASJ...60.1007C.
- ^ Habets, G. M. H. J.; Heintze, J. R. W.; Heintze (November 1981). "Empirical bolometric corrections for the main-sequence". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement 46: 193–237. Bibcode 1981A&AS...46..193H. Page 225 "Table IV" #178
- ^ B. F. Lane, A. Retter, R. R. Thompson, J. A. Eisner (April 2005). "Interferometric Observations of V838 Monocerotis". The Astrophysical Journal Letters 622 (2): L137–L140. arXiv:astro-ph/0502293. Bibcode 2005ApJ...622L.137L. doi:10.1086/429619.
- ^ a b c d Table 4 in Emily M. Levesque, Philip Massey, K. A. G. Olsen, Bertrand Plez, Eric Josselin, Andre Maeder, and Georges Meynet (August 2005). "The Effective Temperature Scale of Galactic Red Supergiants: Cool, but Not As Cool As We Thought". The Astrophysical Journal 628 (2): 973–985. arXiv:astro-ph/0504337. Bibcode 2005ApJ...628..973L. doi:10.1086/430901.
- ^ Emily M. Levesque, Philip Massey, Bertrand Plez, and Knut A. G. Olsen (June 2009). "The Physical Properties of the Red Supergiant WOH G64: The Largest Star Known?". Astronomical Journal 137 (6): 4744. Bibcode 2009AJ....137.4744L. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/137/6/4744.
- ^ Graham M. Harper et al (2008). "A NEW VLA-HIPPARCOS DISTANCE TO BETELGEUSE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS". The Astronomical Journal 135 (4): 1430–1440. Bibcode 2008AJ....135.1430H. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/135/4/1430.
- ^ Jim Kaler. 2009-06-26. Betelgeuse "0.047 seconds of arc, from which we find a true radius of between 4.1 (compromise distance) and 4.6 (larger distance) AU, … extended atmosphere, and the pulsations make it difficult to locate an actual "surface" to tell just how large the star actually is. … "size" of the star depends on the color of observation. Long-wave infrared … up to 5 AU and greater, … shorter-wave infrared … 3 AU. … Betelgeuse to be shrinking … not even round, but somewhat oval"
- ^ http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-out.add=.&-source=II/224/cadars&recno=10781
- ^ http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-out.add=.&-source=II/224/cadars&recno=6127
- ^ http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-out.add=.&-source=II/224/cadars&recno=9837
- ^ http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-out.add=.&-source=II/224/cadars&recno=2512
- ^ http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-out.add=.&-source=II/224/cadars&recno=10947
- ^ http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-out.add=.&-source=II/224/cadars&recno=9107
- ^ "Big and Giant Stars"
- ^ http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-out.add=.&-source=II/224/cadars&recno=2526
- ^ http://www.eso.org/~mwittkow/publications/conferences/SPIECWo5491199.pdf
- ^ http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-out.add=.&-source=II/224/cadars&recno=10628
- ^ Nugent, Richard. "The Garnet Star". weblore.com. http://www.weblore.com/richard/garnet_star.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-04. "DIAM .. m Cep 1224 ... V509 CAS 910 ... V382 CAR 747"
- ^ Lamers, H. J. G. L. M. (February 6–10, 1995). "Observations and Interpretation of Luminous Blue Variables". ASP Conference Series 83: 176–191. Bibcode 1995ASPC...83..176L.
- ^ Fedele; Wittkowski; Paresce; Scholz; Wood; Ciroi (2004). "The K-band intensity profile of R Leonis probed by VLTI/VINCI". Astronomy and Astrophysics 431 (3): 1019–1026. arXiv:astro-ph/0411133. Bibcode 2005A&A...431.1019F. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20042013.
- ^ Davis J, Booth AJ, Ireland MJ, Jacob AP, North JR, Owens SM, Robertson JG, Tango WJ, Tuthill PG, J.; Booth, A. J.; Ireland, M. J.; Jacob, A. P.; North, J. R.; Owens, S. M.; Robertson, J. G.; Tango, W. J. et al. (2007). "The Emergent Flux and Effective Temperature of Delta Canis Majoris". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 24 (3): 151. arXiv:0709.3873. Bibcode 2007PASA...24..151D. doi:10.1071/AS07017.
- ^ http://www.hposoft.com/EAur09/ZetaAurigae.html
- ^ http://etacar.umn.edu/etainfo/basic/
- ^ Gamma Crucis by Jim Kaler
- ^ Richichi, A.; Roccatagliata, V. (2005). "Aldebaran's angular diameter: how well do we know it?". Astronomy and Astrophysics 433: 305–312. arXiv:astro-ph/0502181. Bibcode 2005A&A...433..305R. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20041765.
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