The big questions: what’s the Biggest Star We Know?

Exploring the Cosmos: the Giants.

In the vast expanse of the cosmos, stars are the dazzling beacons that illuminate the darkness. Each one is a celestial giant, with sizes and masses that defy imagination. To comprehend the scale of these cosmic wonders, let’s begin with a familiar benchmark — our very own Sun.

The Sun’s Scale:
Our Sun, a G-type main-sequence star, is a formidable 1.4 million kilometers across, representing a mere fraction of the stellar diversity scattered across the universe. To facilitate comparisons, astronomers use the concepts of “solar radius” and “solar mass”. The Sun’s radius is 690,000 kilometers, and its mass is a staggering 2 x 10³⁰ kilograms.

Stellar Classification:
Stars are classified based on spectral class, temperature, size, and brightness. The Morgan–Keenan (MK) system categorizes stars from O (hottest) to M (coolest), with numerical subdivisions. Luminosity classes, denoted by Roman numerals, further distinguish stars based on their features.