VY Canis Majoris size and scale context

VY Canis Majoris is an extreme red hypergiant wrapped in a dense, asymmetric cloud of its own ejecta. Its vast infrared glow and clumpy nebula show a star losing matter so violently that the surrounding outflow becomes part of the story. Read its scale context, comparisons, and journey links on the canonical object page.

ArcturusK-type orange giant star·35 million km

AldebaranK-type red giant star·62.8 million km

RigelBlue supergiant star·103 million km

Eta Carinae ALuminous blue variable star·334 million km

BetelgeuseRed supergiant star·1.05 billion km

VY Canis MajorisRed hypergiant star·1.98 billion km

Stephenson 2-18Extreme red supergiant candidate·~2.99 billion km

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Stars

Betelgeuse

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 fact1.05 billion kmdiameter

Object class: Red supergiant star
Mass: ~15–20 solar masses
Temperature: ~3,600 K surface
Estimated age: ~8–14 million years
Composition: Hydrogen and helium

Stars

VY Canis Majoris

Scale fact1.98 billion kmdiameter

Object class: Red hypergiant star
Mass: ~17 solar masses
Temperature: ~3,500 K surface
Estimated age: ~8 million years
Composition: Hydrogen and helium

Stars

Stephenson 2-18

Stephenson 2-18 is a very cool, luminous red supergiant candidate in the direction of the Stephenson 2 stellar association. It has been given one of the largest published stellar size estimates, but its exact diameter remains uncertain because the star is distant, dust-affected, and difficult to separate cleanly from its surrounding region.

Scale fact~2.99 billion kmdiameter

Object class: Extreme red supergiant candidate
Temperature: ~3,200 K surface
Composition: Hydrogen and helium