VY Canis Majoris

__NOTOC__Starbox begin
name=VY Canis Majoris Starbox observe
epoch=J2000
ra=07^h 22^m 58.29^s
dec=−25° 46′ 03.5″
appmag_v= 9.527
constell=Canis Major

VY Canis Majoris (VY CMa) is a red hypergiant star located in the constellation Canis Major. It is the largest known star and also one of the most luminous known. It is located about 1.5 kiloparsecs (or 5,000 light-years) away from Earth.

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University of Minnesota professor Roberta M. Humphreys [ [http://www.physics.umn.edu/people/rmh.html Roberta Humphreys, Professor (Astronomy)] , University of Minnesota School of Physics and Astronomy] estimates the radius of VY CMa at 1800 to 2100 solar radii. To illustrate, if our Sun were replaced with VY Canis Majoris, its surface would extend to the orbit of Saturn. Assuming the upper size limit of 2100 solar radii, light would take more than 8 hours to travel around the star's circumference. Dr. Humphreys recently estimated [Cain, Fraser. " [http://www.universetoday.com/2008/04/06/what-is-the-biggest-star-in-the-universe/ What is the Biggest Star in the Universe?] ", "Universe Today".] that the largest possible star is approximately 2,600 times the radius of the Sun.

Controversy

There are two controversial opinions of the properties of VY CMa. In one view (such as Roberta M. Humphreys' study [http://www.arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph?papernum=0610433 VY Canis Majoris: The Astrophysical Basis of Its Luminosity] "arXiv", 2006-10-13 Retrieved on 05-15-07 ] ), the star is a very large and very luminous red hypergiant. In another opinion (such as Massey, Levesque, & Plez's study [Massey, Philip; Levesque, Emily M.; Plez, Bertrand.. [http://www.arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph?papernum=0604253 Bringing VY Canis Majoris Down to Size: An Improved Determination of Its Effective Temperature] "arXiv", 2006-04-11. Retrieved on 05-15-07 ] ), the star is a normal red supergiant, with a radius around 600 solar radii. In this case, its surface would extend well past the orbit of Mars.

References

ee also

* Orders of magnitude (length)
* List of largest stars
* List of most luminous stars

External links

* [http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2007/03/ Astronomers Map a Hypergiant Star's Massive Outbursts] , HubbleSite NewsCenter, 2007-01-08
* Helton, L. Andrew. [http://webusers.astro.umn.edu/~ahelton/research/VYCMa/ Research Topics - VY Canis Majoris] , University of Minnesota
* [http://www.universetoday.com/2008/04/06/what-is-the-biggest-star-in-the-universe/ "What is the Biggest Star in the Universe?"] , Universe Today, 2008-04-06