How does our sun compare to VY Canis Majoris?
Andrew Mckinney
Updated on June 03, 2026
The size of VY Canis Majoris is truly immense, about 1,420 times larger (and 300,000 times brighter) than our sun.
Is VY Canis Majoris bigger than the Sun?
Of all known stars, the VY Canis Majoris is the largest. This red Hypergiant star, found in the constellation Canis Major, is estimated to have a radius at least 1,800 that of the Sun’s.
How big is Canis Majoris compared to the Sun?
Discovery Chanel Of course, the best way to feel really, really, super small is to compare our sun to one of the largest stars ever observed: VY Canis Majoris. This star’s diameter is roughly 2000 times that of our sun’s and 155,000 times that of Earth’s.
How much bigger is Stephenson 2/18 than the Sun?
Stephenson 2-18 (St2-18) is a red supergiant located in the constellation Scutum. Also catalogued as Stephenson 2-DFK 1 and RSGC2-18, it is the current record holder for the largest star known, with a size 2,150 times that of the Sun.
How hot is VY Canis Majoris?
3,490 K
VY Canis Majoris/Surface temperature
How far away is VY Canis Majoris?
4,892 light years
VY Canis Majoris/Distance to Earth
Which is bigger Stephenson 2-18 or UY Scuti?
( Solar luminosity means luminosity of the Sun). Stephenson 2-18 is much less massive than UY Scuti, as mentioned above, but larger in size and brighter in luminosity. Stephenson 2-18 has big luminosity, as Red Supergiant stars are some of the most luminous and largest stars in the Universe.
How many times can Earth fit in VY Canis?
Complete answer: We need to know that the diameter of VY Canis Majoris is 155000 times that of our Earth. Let us assume that nnumbers of Earth can be fitted into VY Canis Majoris. Therefore, we can conclude that 7.5477×1010Earths can be fitted into VY Canis Majoris.
Will Canis Majoris become a black hole?
In a regular supernova this extremely dense ball could become a neutron star or a pulsar, but the unusually high mass of VY Canis Majoris (or a similar hypergiant) would result in the formation of a rogue stellar-mass black hole… with an explosion of gamma rays that has the ability to wipe out any cellular life in …