Betelgeuse is a red supergiant nearing the end of its stellar life. Its dramatic dimming in 2019 and 2020 turned out to be caused by a dusty veil ejected from the star, giving astronomers a rare direct look at how giant stars shed material into space.
Scale Comparison
Betelgeuse vs Stephenson 2 DFK 49
Explore the scaleStephenson 2 DFK 49's quoted visible extent is about 1.5 times Betelgeuse's.
Stephenson 2 DFK 49’s quoted extent is about 1.5 times Betelgeuse’s approximate photospheric diameter.
This is not a precision ranking. Both values depend on how a diffuse, pulsating atmosphere is modeled, and the distance to Stephenson 2 DFK 49 adds further uncertainty.
Objects
Object details and sources
Stephenson 2 DFK 49 is an extreme red supergiant whose quoted size remains highly uncertain because its outer layers are diffuse and difficult to define. Even so, plausible estimates make it so enormous that its photosphere could approach or even engulf Jupiter’s orbit if placed at the center of the Solar System.
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About
Scale of Space is a scroll-based journey through the universe, placing objects on a single logarithmic scale so you can compare size across an unbroken range.
Guides explain selected parts of that range, while focused views filter the objects by subject.