It is the star VY Canis Majoris, about 2.7 billion km in diameter, that is, more than 3 million times larger than the Sun. However, using the term “astro” to talk about planets, stars, meteors and other structures that make up the Universe is scientifically inaccurate, according to Enos Picazzio, from the Institute of Geophysics at USP.
In addition, the astronomer explains that “there are much larger spatial structures, such as galaxies, which are clusters of stars, and superclusters (clusters of galaxies)”. A STRANGE WORLD, however, preferred to investigate the size of single celestial bodies and keep the measurement scale in kilometers. Galaxies and superclusters, to give you an idea, are measured in light years, and each light year equals 3,500 VY Canis Majoris.
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EARTH
Diameter: 12.7 thousand km
Fifth largest planet in the solar system, the Earth’s diameter was calculated for the first time by the Greek Eratosthenes, in 250 BC, through mathematical relations. Today, these increasingly precise measurements are obtained using special equipment and satellites.
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SUN
Diameter: 1.39 million km
The biggest star in the Solar System is small coffee close to other luminous neighbors, even inside our galaxy, the Milky Way. Still, it’s nearly 12,000 times larger than Earth and contains about 98% of our planetary system’s total mass.
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RIGEL
Diameter: 101.5 million km
The brightest star in the Universe is 73 times the diameter of the Sun. Being young, this blue supergiant still has a lot of hydrogen to burn and, therefore, radiates a very intense light. By distance from Earth, however, it is only the sixth brightest in the sky.
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VY CANIS MAJORIS
Diameter: 2.7 billion km
First recorded in 1801, it was measured in 2006 by scientists at the University of Minnesota using the Hubble telescope. The biggest star ever identified emits so much energy that it is estimated that it will “die” in 3,200 years, in an explosion.
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The largest asteroid ever recorded is the Cereswith 950 km in diameter, little more than the distance between São Paulo and Goiânia.
SOURCE NASA