The Largest Star (Stephenson 2-18)

Stars come in a wide range of sizes, but how do we calculate a star's size to determine which is the biggest? In this episode of OOTW, we will find out how stars are measured to determine their mind-blowing sizes, and above all, which of them are the largest stars.

Patrons get ad-free access to my videos, and also get early access sneak peaks!
All support is hugely appreciated and helps me in my full-time job of creating these videos!

Do you use these videos to sleep or for night time watching? Check out the new sleeping space playlist, a collection of my most chilled out and ambient videos.

FOOTAGE:
The space scenes in this video were captured using SpaceEngine Pro, a virtual universe simulator:

MUSIC:
Two songs in this video were made by Chris Zabriskie. His music is absolutely fantastic and makes videos 10x better. He's just released a new album, so if you liked the music in this video, please consider checking out his YouTube channel and website.

All other music provided by the YouTube Audio Library

SOURCES:

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
1:04 What Are Stars?
5:40 How Stars Become Huge
9:38 Problems with Direct Measurements
11:31 Parallax
13:01 Indirectly Measuring Stars
15:33 VY Canis Majoris
18:30 UY Scuti
22:59 Stephenson 2-18

Want to support the channel? Now you can become a SeaSquad member! Members gain access to exclusive badges, emojis, and early video previews!

[Countcomfortable]

If you ever feel stressed remember there’s a very large Star out there named Steven who can barely hold himself together

[stevebrindle]

This is one of the best science channels on Youtube. As a 67yr old I still remember how things were before the internet and I believe this allows me to appreciate it more. If someone told me back then that everyone could access more or less the sum total of human knowledge and culture from a small box in your room I would have thought them mad!

[Staniel_]

3 years late. I once worked an aerospace systems manufacturing facility and my job was to measure luminance etc. on flight panels. 13:34 you explained in 10 seconds what took them 6 months of training to get me to understand. This is what makes good content creators just that

[ifriday]

It’s kinda disturbing to think that 100 years seems a long time to humans, but on a cosmic scale 100, 000 years is equivalent to about “a blink of an eye”.

[Talguy]

I took Stephenson 2-18's numbers to a habitable zone calculator, and it gave me numbers like 630 AU - 1111 AU, which is a mind-boggling distance. Pluto is at its furthest at 49.3 AU, for a point of reference.

[phantomray]

imagine being an almost incomprehensibly large star just to be called stephenson

[dimwiddy]

If this is Stephenson, I'd hate to see Stephen...

[brettvv]

..b..but mom says _I'm_ the biggest star.😔

[angelserenade]

i can't help but smile when for Canis Major, a freaking dachshund is used for comparison of the constellation lol

[Carodej.Dobrodej]

Still cannot believe this level of content is free. This shit is National Geographic or Space Attenborough quality.

[cade]

I just can’t wait for the James Webb telescope

[JayEm]

I have to give it to you man. I watch videos about stars, space, galaxies, universe In general and things alike. This is the most jam packed yet simplistic video ive seen. Its got a lot of info on stats yet its not overwhelming and is still understandable for someone who doesnt have an the first idea about stars. Bravo my friend, bravo. Thank you for this.

[JanoyCresvaZero]

This stuff interests me so much. I suck at mathematics, and I have a lot of trouble visualizing large numbers… But astronomy and cosmology is so fascinating. I just keep binging these videos. I appreciate all you do man!

[joshuapatrick]

Could you imagine being within a few hundred light years of these monsters? How big and bright they would appear at night?!

[silenthill]

I have watched many documentaries on the universe but still didn't know how stars are formed until this video came along. The explanation was easy enough to understand which is quite a challenge on it's own.

[DogmaBeoulve]

You're one of the few YouTube channels in which I will not just purposefully set-aside time to do nothing but watch your video, but one of the fewer still in which I much prefer to make something of an evening of it ;D A meal, a drink and some SEA is a little slice of heaven.

[pixxelwizzard]

"Seasons that last a millennia." Mind blown! This whole video was an absolute delight to watch, and I was in constant awe, not just of the scale of our universe, but of mankind's ability to decode so much of it and the methods they use. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this gem of a channel!

[Whatamysaid]

I need you to know, that your videos are next level. Each and every fascinating film
has broadened my understanding of our universe immensely. Visually, each video is more elegant and beautiful than the next. Your narration is not only soothing to the ear, and poetic, but you’ve mastered the art of presenting these highly complex scientific concepts in a way that’s easily 😅understood by a simpleton like myself. I FINALLY FEEL LIKE I HAVE found my go to- FAVORITE channel on all things universe/space/etc

[RK-xhpr]

This channel is probably the main reason for why I got into astronomy

[dancingroaches]

James Webb telescoop for sure gonna find larger red giant's and mindblowing planet's.