V354 Cephei
Encyclopedia
V354 Cephei is a red supergiant
star
located within the Milky Way
. It is an irregular variable
located approximately 9,000 light-years away from our Sun
, and is currently considered one of the largest known stars, with a radius estimate of 1520 times that of the Sun
, or 1,060,000,000 km. Assuming the size estimate is correct, if it were placed in the center of our Solar System, it would extend to 7 AU, between the orbits of Jupiter
and Saturn
.
Supergiant
Supergiants are among the most massive stars. They occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. In the Yerkes spectral classification, supergiants are class Ia or Ib . They typically have bolometric absolute magnitudes between -5 and -12...
star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
located within the Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
. It is an irregular variable
Irregular variable
An irregular variable is a type of variable star in which variations in brightness show no regular periodicity. There are two main sub-types of irregular variable: eruptive and pulsating.Eruptive irregular variables are divided into three categories:...
located approximately 9,000 light-years away from our Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, and is currently considered one of the largest known stars, with a radius estimate of 1520 times that of the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, or 1,060,000,000 km. Assuming the size estimate is correct, if it were placed in the center of our Solar System, it would extend to 7 AU, between the orbits of Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
and Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
.
See also
- List of largest stars
- List of most luminous stars
- List of stars in Cepheus