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Pistol Star
25,000 light-years from the Earth
Among the most radiant stars in the whole Milky Way galaxy, the Pistol Star measures between 80 to 150 solar masses, which means that its mass is roughly 80 to 150 times greater than that of our Sun.
First discovered in 1991 with the aid of the Hubble Space Telescope, this blue hypergiant was the most massive known star before the discovery of R136a1. The energy that it radiates in a matter of only 20 seconds is equal to what our sun does in a year.
It is, furthermore, believed to be 10 million times more luminous than the Sun. The Pistol Star is 25,000 light-years from the Earth and has a diameter that is significantly larger than the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
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Mu Cephei
6,000 light-years from the Earth
Another star found in the constellation Cepheus that is among the largest and most luminous stars in the Milky Way is Mu Cephei. It is a so-called red supergiant star and may be the largest star visible to the naked eye, and possibly, in the whole galaxy.
Visually, Mu Cephei emits about 100,000 times more light than the Sun does. It takes a billion suns to match the size of Mu Cephei.
It is also known as Herschel’s Garnet Star, as its deep red color was noted by William Herschel (1738-1822), a German-born British astronomer. This star is currently unstable in terms of light output, temperature, and size. It is, moreover, believed to be nearing death.
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VV Cephei A
5,000 light-years from the Earth
The VV Cephei A is one of the biggest stars found in the constellation Cepheus.
It is about 5,000 light years away.
This star is recognized as a red supergiant primary as its luminosity and magnitude do not qualify it as a hypergiant.
The VV Cephei A has a solar radius between 1,050 to 1,900.
This star belongs to an eclipsing binary star system called VV Cephei which is not entirely spherical, and hence, has unstable luminosity.
It is also difficult to measure in terms of size.
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VY Canis Majoris
5,000 light-years from the Earth
VY Canis Majoris is 30 to 40 times as heavy as the sun. A red hypergiant 2,000 times bigger than the Sun, VY Canis is the largest star in the universe in terms of size.
To put things into perspective, if we could take VY Canis Majoris and put it in our solar system in place of the sun, it would stick out of Saturn’s orbit.
The VY Canis Majoris emits roughly 500,000 times as much light as the Sun does.
Its temperature is estimated at around 3,200 degrees Celsius. The distance between this star and the Earth is 5,000 light years.
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R136a1
165,000 light-years from the Earth
R136a1 is believed to be the most massive star in the universe. In 2010, British astronomers in the University of Sheffield discovered the giant star in the Tarantula Nebula through a small satellite galaxy that circles the Milky Way.
While R136a1 is reported to be 265 times more massive than the Sun, it could have been 320 times more once, the discoverers noted. This star is also the most luminous.
It is believed to be 10 million times brighter than our sun and has a temperature of 40,000 degrees Celsius on its surface.
The R136a1 gives off more energy than all stars belonging in the Orion Nebula.
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