Among all the observed celestial bodies, it is quite difficult to establish which is the largest star in our galaxy. This is associated with huge distances in space and the complexity of observations with subsequent analysis of the data obtained. To date, scientists have managed to detect and register about 50 billion luminaries. A more advanced technique allows you to explore the distant corners of space and get new information about objects.
Assessment and search for supergiants in space
Modern astrophysics in the process of space exploration is constantly faced with a large number of questions. The reason for this is the gigantic size of the visible universe, about fourteen billion light years. Sometimes, when observing a star, it is quite difficult to estimate the distance to it. Therefore, before you set out on a journey in search of determining which is the largest star in our galaxy, you need to understand the level of difficulty in observing space objects.
Earlier, until the beginning of the twentieth century, it was believed that our galaxy is one. Visibleother galaxies were classified as nebulae. But Edwin Hubble de alt a crushing blow to the ideas of the scientific world. He argued that there are a lot of galaxies, and ours is not the largest.
Space is incredibly huge
The distances to the nearest galaxies are huge. reach hundreds of millions of years. It is quite problematic for astrophysicists to determine which is the largest star in our galaxy.
Therefore, it is even more difficult to talk about other galaxies with trillions of stars, at a distance of a hundred or more million light years. In the process of research, new objects are opened. The discovered stars are compared and the most unique and largest are determined.
Supergiant in the constellation Scutum
The name of the largest star in our galaxy is UY Scuti, a red supergiant. It is a variable star that varies in size from 1700 to 2000 solar diameters.
Our brain is not capable of representing such quantities. Therefore, for a complete idea of what size is the largest star in the galaxy, it is necessary to compare with the values \u200b\u200bthat are understandable to us. Our solar system is suitable for comparison. The size of the star is so large that if it is placed in the place of our Sun, then the boundary of the supergiant will be in the orbit of Saturn.
And our planet and Mars will be inside the star. The distance to this "monster" of space is about9600 light years.
The largest star in the Milky Way galaxy - UY Scuti - can only conditionally be considered a "king". The reasons are obvious. One of them is the huge cosmic distances and cosmic dust, which make it difficult to obtain accurate data. Another problem is directly related to the physical properties of supergiants. With a diameter 1700 times larger than our celestial body, the largest star in our galaxy is only 7-10 times as massive as it is. It turns out that the density of the supergiant is millions of times less than the air around us. Its density is comparable to the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of about a hundred kilometers above sea level. Therefore, it is rather problematic to determine exactly where the boundaries of the star end and its “wind” begins.
At the moment, the largest star in our galaxy is at the end of its evolutionary cycle. It expanded (the same process will happen with our Sun at the end of evolution) and began to actively burn helium and a number of other elements heavier than hydrogen. After a few million years, the largest star in the galaxy - UY Scuti - will turn into a yellow supergiant. And in the future - into a bright blue variable, and possibly into a Wolf-Rayet star.
Along with the "king" - the supergiant UY Scutum - about ten stars with similar sizes can be noted. These include VY Canis Majoris, Cepheus A, NML Cygnus, WOH G64 VV and several others.
It is known that all the largest stars are short-lived and very unstable. Such stars canexist both for millions of years and for several millennia, ending its life cycle in the form of a supernova or a black hole.
The largest star in the galaxy: the search continues
Observing serious changes over the past twenty years, it is worth assuming that over time our understanding of the possible parameters of supergiants will differ from previously known. And it is quite possible that in the coming years another supergiant will be discovered, with a larger mass or size. And new discoveries will prompt scientists to revise previously accepted dogmas and definitions.
