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.

BetelgeuseRed supergiant star·1.05 billion km

Stephenson 2 DFK 49Extreme red supergiant star·1.6 billion km

VY Canis MajorisRed hypergiant star·1.98 billion km

Scroll up for smaller

Scroll down for larger

Between the smallest and the largest, perspective is everything.

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 turn parts of that scale into curated essays, while focused views let you explore the same range through specific groups of objects.

Editorial

Solar System Planets From Electron to Atoms Stars To Scale Birth And Death Of Stars Black Holes To Scale

Views

Planets of the Solar System Stars of the Universe Black holes Subatomic scale

Open Scale of Space Browse all comparisons

Between the smallest and the largest, perspective is everything.

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 turn parts of that scale into curated essays, while focused views let you explore the same range through specific groups of objects.

Editorial

Solar System Planets From Electron to Atoms Stars To Scale Birth And Death Of Stars Black Holes To Scale

Views

Planets of the Solar System Stars of the Universe Black holes Subatomic scale

Open Scale of Space Browse all comparisons

Stars

Stephenson 2 DFK 49

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.

Scale fact1.6 billion kmdiameter

Object class: Extreme red supergiant star
Composition: Hydrogen and helium
Estimated age: ~10–20 million years
Temperature: ~4,000 K surface

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