Stephenson 2-18: The Largest Star Ever Discovered!

#Stephenson218 #RedSupergiant #Astronomy #StellarScale #SpaceExploration #CosmicWonders #Astrophysics #GalacticMarvels #StellarPhenomena #SpaceDiscovery #UniverseWonders #MassiveStars #CelestialBodies #AstronomicalResearch #StarFormation #GalacticScale #SpaceFacts #CosmicJourney #AstronomyFascination #StarComparisons #space #universe #astronomy #NASA #SpaceX #Astronomy #Cosmos #BlackHoles #Astrophysics #SpaceExploration #ISS #HubbleTelescope #MarsExploration #SpaceScience #Galaxies #SpaceTechnology #CelestialObjects #Interstellar #SpaceMissions #PlanetaryScience #Stargazing #CosmicWonders #RocketLaunch #SpaceDiscoveries #CosmicResearch #Exoplanets #NASAInsight #CuriosityRover #InternationalSpaceStation

[UmadeviBellada]

It is not the largest star in the universe, it is the largest star we found

[VipFitnessu]

Love these videos. Especially when I think I have a big “problem”. Puts everything in perspective

[artmilano]

That’s a bold statement, considering that we can only see about 2% of the known universe

[TAWNYA-wgwf]

I often wonder if this may be what causes the universe to expand... the heat within the cold space causes movement...

[chrisgreen]

It's actually still hard to truly grasp. If you want context, Google "if the moon was a pixel" if you want to get better grasp of the vast distances in space. It's a truly accurate scale of our solar system.

[FellowRobloxian]

Imagine if it went supernova, it would look diabolically big

[justinemereni]

Correction: This is the largest star in the observable universe. This means, there are other stars that will make stephenson look like a spec of sand as compared to a basketball.

[Jun-ffr]

"makes your sun like a baby"is crazy

[ytredeye]

How many earth's can fit in Stephenson 2-18

[shinningstarr]

The star cannot support life. No matter how large it cannot extend itself inthe Realm .That you gaze from.

[julianandrewparra]

So this star is almost big as our whole solar system! I would have thought it was way bigger! It says a lot about how big our solar system actually is!

[NONE-wvii]

Wait a minute, when the sun becomes a white dwarf, will the sun become bigger than stephenson 2-18?

[stclasspercussionis]

In our galaxy. We can barely make out stars in other galaxies.

[monicaestras]

Stephenson 2-18, also known as RSGC2-18, is a red supergiant star located in the Scutum constellation, approximately 20, 000 light-years away. It is one of the largest known stars, with a radius about 2, 150 times that of the Sun, making it a significant object of study in astrophysics.

### General Information

- **Type**: Red supergiant or red hypergiant star
- **Distance from Earth**: Approximately 18, 900 light-years (5, 800 parsecs)
- **Luminosity**: Estimated between 90, 000 and 630, 000 times that of the Sun, with a more precise measurement of around 436, 516 solar luminosities
- **Effective Temperature**: Approximately 3, 200 K

### Physical Characteristics

- **Radius**: About 2, 150 solar radii, making it the largest known star
- **Volume**: Roughly 10 billion times greater than that of the Sun
- **Spectral Type**: M6, indicating a cooler temperature compared to other supergiants

### Location and Cluster

- **Constellation**: Scutum
- **Cluster Association**: Part of the Stephenson 2 open cluster, which contains a core group of 26 red supergiants
- **Cluster Characteristics**: The cluster is heavily obscured by dust and is not visible in standard optical telescopes but can be observed in infrared light.

### Observational Data

- **Right Ascension**: 18h 39m 02.37s
- **Declination**: -06° 05′ 10.54″
- **Apparent Magnitude**:
- G: 15.2631
- J: 7.150
- H: 4.698
- K: 2.9

### Evolutionary Stage

- **Current Stage**: Likely nearing the end of its life cycle, with predictions that it may soon shed its outer layers and evolve into a luminous blue variable or a Wolf-Rayet star.

### Significance

- **Astrophysical Importance**: Stephenson 2-18 provides valuable insights into the life cycles of massive stars and the dynamics of stellar evolution, particularly in the context of red supergiants and their eventual fates.

### Observational Challenges

- **Visibility**: The star is not easily observable with amateur telescopes due to its distance and the dust obscuring the cluster it resides in. Observations are primarily conducted using infrared surveys.

[taunopaakkonen]

What would be the biggest size of star?

[roberttheshoeless]

It's already ate its solar system at that point

[thenorthstars]

If it is so big how come you cannot see it at night?

[DrushtiWalmiki]

Stephenson 2-18 vs black hole☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️

[alienlife]

It would take us years just to fly around it.

[nicholash]

Can fit 8 million of our suns inside it but is only 2150 times bigger... but has a volume 10 billion times bigger. I think I need to take math again.