The sun at the center of the solar system is only one of many stars in the universe. Even though the distance is almost 150 million kilometers, the light from the Sun is still able to illuminate the Earth. The center of the solar system itself has a size of 109 times the diameter of the Earth.
However, the size of the Sun is still very small compared to other stars. The largest star known today has the name Stephenson 2-18. How big is this star really? Here’s the discussion.
1. Very large size
The size of Stephenson’s 2-18 radius is 2,150 solar radii (solar radius). This means Stephenson 2-18 is more than two thousand times the size of the Sun. Launch Info Astronomy, if the center of our solar system were replaced by this star, Stephenson’s outer atmosphere layer 2-18 could swallow Saturn’s orbit.
If we try to insert the Earth into the Sun, this star can contain approximately 1,300,000 planet Earths. Meanwhile, Stephenson 2-18 is capable of containing approximately 10 billion suns.
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2. Found 31 years ago
Stephenson star 2-18 in the center of the image (doc. Université de Strasbourg/CNRS)–
The star name Stephenson 2-18 was taken from its discoverer, namely Charles Bruce Stephenson in 1990. This American astronomer discovered an open star cluster called Stephenson 2 through searching data through infrared surveys. In this star cluster, there are dozens of other stars besides Stephenson 2-18.
Also read: These are 7 Solar Eclipse Myths You Should Know The Truth!
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3. The distance is very far from Earth
Solar system illustration (unsplash.com/Arnaud Mariat)–
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Stephenson 2-18, located in the Stephenson 2 star cluster, is in the constellation Scutum. This star has a distance of about 5,800 parsecs or about 19,800 light years from Earth.
A light year is the distance light can travel in a vacuum in one year. In one year, light can travel as far as 9.46 trillion kilometers. If we were to go to the star Stephenson 2-18, it would take 19,800 years if we were to travel at the speed of light.
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4. Is a red supergiant star
Illustration of a red supergiant star (doc. AAS Nova)–
Stephenson 2-18 belongs to the category of red supergiant stars (red supergiant). Stars that fall into this category are the stars that have the largest volume in the universe.
The average surface temperature of red supergiant stars is below 4,100 K. The sun is included in the category of yellow dwarf stars (yellow dwarf star) has a surface temperature of 5,778 K.
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5. Including dim stars
Illustration of the Sun’s rays (NASA doc.)–
The light emitted by a celestial object is measured in units of magnitude. The smaller the magnitude number, the brighter the light emitted by a celestial body. The human eye can see stars up to magnitude 6.5 in their darkest conditions.
The stars in the Stephenson 2 star cluster are listed in order of brightest. This means Stephenson 2-18 is 18th in the brightest star in the cluster.
This star has a magnitude of 15.2 which means we should see Stephenson 2-18 with the help of a telescope. For comparison, the brightest star that can be seen from Earth is Sirius with a magnitude of -1.46 and the Sun itself has a magnitude of -26.74.
The following is a discussion of the Stephenson 2-18 star which is the largest star today. Do you like observing the night sky? Leave your comments in the comments column below!
Also Read: Aphelion Phenomenon, Earth Being “Enemy” with the Sun.
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