The Sun may appear to be enormous, yet there are billions of objects in the Universe that are larger than our Sun. Consider this: under the best-case scenario, our Sun is considered an average-sized star.

Stars


There are stars hundreds to thousands of times larger than our Sun out there. These stars are classified as giant, supergiant, or hypergiant.

 

Let's look at one of the most well-known big stars, VY Canis Majoris. VY Canis Majoris has a solar radius of 1,300 to 1,540 times that of our Sun, implying that its radius is at least 1,300 times that of our Sun.

 

KY Cygni, another star, has a radius between 1,420 and 2,850 times that of our Sun. WHO G64 has a solar radius of between 1,504 and 1,730 times that of UY Scuti.

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Mu Cephei has a radius around 1,650 times that of the Sun, whereas RW Cephei has a radius about 1,535 times that of the Sun. Westerlund 1-26 has a radius of 1,530 to 2,550 times that of the Sun, whereas V 354 Cephei has a radius of 1,520 times that of the Sun.

As you can see, there are many stars out there that are many times the size of our Sun. It's only a matter of time before we categorise our Sun as being smaller than usual.

How Big is Betelgeuse Compared to the Sun?

Betelgeuse, like the other stars described above, is one of the largest stars we know of in our Universe. This supergiant red star has a radius of between 950 and 1,200 solar radii, or 95.000% to 120.000% of the radius of our Sun. More than 8 billion Suns might readily fit inside Betelgeuse.

What is the Biggest Star Known Today?

For a long time, the brightest star we knew was either VY Canis Majoris, Betelgeuse, or UY Scuti; however, since 2020, the brightest star we know is Stephenson 2-18.

Stephenson 2-18 is a true giant, with a radius 2,150 times that of the Sun (This is currently the largest star discovered in the Universe since 2020).

More than ten billion Suns would be required to fill Stephenson 2-18. But are there any other talents that can compete with Stephenson 2-18? There very well might be! Consider this: Stephenson 2-18 is still growing up, and as a young star, it will become more greater in the near future. In terms of other massive stars, we may soon discover new ones to beat the record.