List of largest stars
List
AD: radius determined from angular diameter and distance L/Teff: radius calculated from bolometric luminosity and effective temperature

List of largest stars

Section Title: List
Table Section Text: AD: radius determined from angular diameter and distance L/Teff: radius calculated from bolometric luminosity and effective temperature

Star name	Solar radii (Sun = 1)	Method	Notes

Orbit of Saturn	1,940–2,169	Reported for reference

UY Scuti	1,708±192	AD	This value was based on an angular diameter and distance of 2.9 kpc. Gaia DR2 suggests a closer distance and consequently smaller radius.

WOH G64	1,540–2,575	L/Teff	This would be the largest star in the LMC, but is unusual in position and motion and might still be a foreground halo giant.

Westerlund 1-26	1,530–1,580 (–2,550)	L/Teff	Very uncertain parameters for an unusual star with strong radio emission. The spectrum is variable but apparently the luminosity is not.

RSGC1-F02	1,498	L/Teff

HD 143183	1,469–1,478	L/Teff

RSGC1-F01	1,435	L/Teff

VY Canis Majoris	1,420–2,000	AD	VY CMa is described as the largest star in the Milky Way although galactic red supergiants above are possibly larger but they have less accurate radius estimates.

KY Cygni	1,420–2,850	L/Teff	The upper estimate is due to an unusual K-band measurement and thought to be an artifact of a reddening correction error, and is thought to be against stellar evolutionary theory.

AH Scorpii	1,411±124	AD	AH Sco is variable by nearly 3 magnitudes in the visual range, and an estimated 20% in total luminosity. The variation in diameter is not clear because the temperature also varies.

VV Cephei A	1,400	AD	VV Cep A is a highly distorted star in a close binary system, losing mass to the secondary for at least part of its orbit.

IRAS 04509-6922	1,360	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

HV 888	1,353	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

HR 5171 A	1,315±260	AD	HR 5171 A is a highly distorted star in a close binary system, losing mass to the secondary. It is also variable in temperature, thus probably also in diameter.

SMC 18136	1,310	L/Teff	Located in the Small Magellanic Cloud.

IRAS 05280-6910	1,260–1,738	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Mu Cephei (Herschel's "Garnet Star")	1,260–1,650	L/Teff & AD	Prototype of the obsolete class of the Mu Cephei variables and also one of reddest stars in the night sky in terms of the B-V color index.

SP77 46-44 (WOH S341)	1,258	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

LMC 136042	1,240	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Westerlund 1-237	1,233	L/Teff

SMC 5092	1,220	L/Teff

S Persei	1,212±124	AD & L/Teff	A red hypergiant localed in the Perseus Double Cluster. Levsque et al.

LMC 175464	1,200	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

LMC 135720	1,200	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

IRC -10414	1,200	L/Teff	IRC -10414 is a rare red supergiant companion to WR 114 that has a bow shock.

PZ Cassiopeiae	1,190–1,940	L/Teff	The upper estimate is due to an unusual K-band measurement and thought to be an artefact of a reddening correction error.

SMC 69886	1,190	L/Teff

NML Cygni	1,183	L/Teff	NML Cyg is calculated to be between 1,640 R☉ and 2,770 R☉ based on a more accurate measure of its distance combined with assumptions of its temperature.

RSGC1-F05	1,177	L/Teff

EV Carinae	1,168	L/Teff	Older estimates based on much larger distances have given higher luminosities, and consequently larger radii.

RSGC1-F03	1,168	L/Teff

LMC 119219	1,150	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

RSGC1-F08	1,146	L/Teff

BC Cygni	1,140–1,230	L/Teff	BC Cyg is calculated to vary in size from 856 R☉ to 1,553 R☉.

MY Cephei	1,134	L/Teff	Not to be confused with Mu Cephei (see above). Older estimates have given up to 2,440 R☉ based on much cooler temperatures.

J004035.08+404522.3	1,130–1,230	L/Teff	Located in the Andromeda Galaxy

SMC 10889	1,130	L/Teff

VX Sagittarii	1,120–1,550	L/Teff	VX Sgr is a pulsating variable with a large visual range and is calculated to vary in size from 1,350 R☉ to 1,940 R☉.

LMC 141430	1,110	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

IRAS 04516-6902	1,100	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

LMC 175746	1,100	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

RSGC1-F13	1,098	L/Teff

RT Carinae	1,090	L/Teff

RSGC1-F04	1,082	L/Teff

LMC 174714	1,080	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

LMC 68125	1,080	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

SMC 49478	1,080	L/Teff

SMC 20133	1,080	L/Teff

V396 Centauri	1,070	L/Teff

SMC 8930	1,070	L/Teff

Orbit of Jupiter	1,064–1,173	Reported for reference

HV 11423	1,060–1,220	L/Teff	HV 11423 is variable in spectral type (observed from K0 to M5), thus probably also in diameter. In October 1978, it was a star of M0I type.

CK Carinae	1,060	L/Teff

SMC 25879	1,060	L/Teff

LMC 142202	1,050	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

LMC 146126	1,050	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

LMC 67982	1,040	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

U Lacertae	1,022	L/Teff

RSGC1-F11	1,015	L/Teff

LMC 143877	1,010	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

KW Sagittarii	1,009–1,460	AD & L/Teff	Margin of possible error: ±142 R☉.

RSGC1-F12	1,005	L/Teff

Progenitor of SN 2017eaw	1,000–2,000	L/Teff	Located in NGC 6946

SMC 46497	990	L/Teff

LMC 140296	990	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

RSGC1-F09	986	L/Teff

RW Cephei	981–1,758	L/Teff	RW Cep is variable both in brightness (by at least a factor of 3) and spectral type (observed from G8 to M), thus probably also in diameter.

NR Vulpeculae	980	L/Teff

SMC 12322	980	L/Teff

LMC 177997	980	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

SMC 59803	970	L/Teff

Westerlund 1-20	965	L/Teff

GCIRS 7	960–1,000	AD	Located at the galactic center. Margin of possible error: ±92 R☉ or ±150 R☉.

HV 2561	957	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

SMC 50840	950	L/Teff

J004424.94+412322.3	945–1,300	L/Teff	Located in the Andromeda Galaxy.

HV 916	944	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

RSGC1-F10	931	L/Teff

S Cassiopeiae	930

IX Carinae	920	L/Teff

HV 2112	916	L/Teff	Most likely candidate for a Thorne-Zytkow Object.

RSGC1-F07	910	L/Teff

LMC 54365	900	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

IRAS 04498-6842	900–1,660	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

HV 996	894	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

NSV 25875	891	L/Teff

LMC 109106	890	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

HV 12501	890	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis)	887±203	AD	Star with the third largest apparent size after R Doradus and the Sun. Another estimate give 955±217 R☉

RSGC1-F06	885	L/Teff

LMC 116895	880	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

SMC 30616	880	L/Teff

LMC 64048	880	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

IRAS 05558-7000	880	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

V437 Scuti	874	L/Teff

IRAS 04407-7000	870	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

IRAS 05329-6708	870	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

HV 986	867	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

V602 Carinae	860–1,050	L/Teff & AD	Margin of possible error: ±165 R☉.

J004047.82+410936.4	860–1,010	L/Teff	Located in the Andromeda Galaxy

V669 Cassiopeiae	859	L/Teff

HV 2360	857	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

HV 5870	856	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

BI Cygni	850–1,240	L/Teff

SMC 55681	850	L/Teff

SMC 15510	850	L/Teff

LMC 61753	830	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

LMC 62090	830	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

SMC 11709	830	L/Teff

V1185 Scorpii	830	L/Teff

LMC 142199	810	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

IRAS 05294-7104	810	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

IRAS 05402-6956	800	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

LMC 134383	800	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

V441 Persei	799	L/Teff

BU Persei	795	L/Teff

IRAS 05298-6957	790	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

BO Carinae	790	L/Teff

LMC 142907	790	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

SU Persei	780	L/Teff	In the Perseus Double Cluster

RS Persei	770–1,000	AD & L/Teff	In the Perseus Double Cluster. Margin of possible error: ±30 R☉.

AV Persei	770	L/Teff	In the Perseus Double Cluster

V355 Cephei	770	L/Teff	Mauron et al. 2011 derive 37,000 L☉, which implies a size around 300 R☉.

J004124.80+411634.7	760–1,240	L/Teff	Located in the Andromeda Galaxy and has a possible hot companion.

V915 Scorpii	760	L/Teff

S Cephei	760	AD

YZ Persei	758	L/Teff

J004447.08+412801.7	755–825	L/Teff	Located in the Andromeda Galaxy

GP Cassiopeiae	751	L/Teff

Outer limits of the asteroid belt	750–900	Reported for reference

SMC 11939	750	L/Teff

HD 303250	750	L/Teff

V382 Carinae	747	Yellow hypergiant, one of the rarest types of a star. Other estimate ranges of 600 R☉ to 1,100 R☉.

R Cygni	745	L/Teff

RU Virginis	740	L/Teff

LMC 137818	740	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

SMC 48122	740	L/Teff

IRAS 04545-7000	730	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

IRAS 05003-6712	730	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

SMC 56732	730	L/Teff

KK Persei	724	L/Teff

V648 Cassiopeiae	710	L/Teff

XX Persei	710	L/Teff	Located in the Perseus Double Cluster and near the border with Andromeda.

TV Geminorum	620–710 (–770)	L/Teff

HD 179821	704±259	HD 179821 may be a yellow hypergiant or a much less luminous star.

J004255.95+404857.5	700–785	L/Teff	Located in the Andromeda Galaxy

J003950.98+405422.5	700	L/Teff	Located in the Andromeda Galaxy

LMC 169754	700	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

LMC 65558	700	L/Teff	Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

V528 Carinae	700	L/Teff

RSGC1-F14	700	L/Teff

The following well-known stars are listed for the purpose of comparison.

V354 Cephei	689–1,520	L/Teff

Antares A (Alpha Scorpii A)	680 (varies by 19%)	AD	Antares was originally calculated to be over 850 R☉, but those estimates are likely to have been affected by asymmetry of the atmosphere of the star.

HR 5171 Ab	650±150	AD	The yellow giant or supergiant companion of HR 5171 A.

CE Tauri	587–593 (–608)	AD	Can be occulted by the Moon, allowing accurate determination of its apparent diameter.

Mira A (Omicron Ceti)	332–402	AD	Prototype Mira variable. De beck et al. 2010 calculates 541 R☉.

V509 Cassiopeiae (HR 8752)	400–900	L/Teff	Yellow hypergiant, one of the rarest types of a star.

R Leporis (Hind's "Crimson Star")	400–535	AD & L/Teff	Margin of possible error: ±90 R☉.

Rho Cassiopeiae	400–500	L/Teff	Yellow hypergiant, one of the rarest types of a star.

Inner limits of the asteroid belt	380	Reported for reference

CW Leonis	390–826	L/Teff	Prototype of carbon stars. CW Leo was mistakenly identified as the claimed planet "Nibiru" or "Planet X".

V838 Monocerotis	380 (in 2009)	A short time after the outburst V838 Mon was measured at 1,570 ± 400 R☉, but its distance, and hence its size, have since been reduced and it proved to be a transient object that shrunk about four-fold over a few years.

R Doradus	370±50	AD	Star with the second largest apparent size after the Sun.

Tail of Comet Hyakutake	360	Reported for reference

IRC +10420	357	L/Teff	A yellow hypergiant that has increased its temperature into the LBV range. De beck et al.

The Pistol Star	340	AD	Blue hypergiant, among the most massive and luminous stars known.

La Superba (Y Canum Venaticorum)	307–390	L/Teff	Referred to as La Superba by Angelo Secchi. Currently one of the coolest and reddest stars.

Orbit of Mars	297–358	Reported for reference

Alpha Herculis (Ras Algethi)	284±60	L/Teff	The estimate ranges from 264 R☉ to 303 R☉

Sun's red giant phase	256	At this point, the Sun will engulf Mercury and Venus, and possibly the Earth although it will move away from its orbit since the Sun will lose a third of its mass.

Eta Carinae A (Tseen She)	~240	Previously thought to be the most massive single star, but in 2005 it was realized to be a binary system. During the Great Eruption, the size was much larger at around 1,400 R☉.

Orbit of Earth	215 (211–219)	Reported for reference

Deneb (Alpha Cygni)	203±17	AD	Prototype Alpha Cygni variable.

Solar System Habitable Zone	200–520 (uncertain)	Reported for reference

Orbit of Venus	154–157	Reported for reference

Epsilon Aurigae A (Almaaz)	143–358	AD	ε Aur was incorrectly claimed in 1970 as the largest star with a size between 2,000 R☉ and 3,000 R☉, even though it later turned out not to be an infrared light star but rather a dusk torus surrounding the system.

S Doradus	100–380	AD	Prototype S Doradus variable, even though P Cygni was the first discovered.

Peony Star	92	AD	Candidate for most luminous star in the Milky Way.

Rigel A (Beta Orionis A)	78.9±7.4	AD	Other estimate ranges of 74.1+6.1 −7.3 R☉ to 109±12 R☉

Canopus (Alpha Carinae)	71±4	AD	Second brightest star in the night sky.

Orbit of Mercury	66–100	Reported for reference

LBV 1806-20	46–145	L/Teff	Formerly a candidate for the most luminous star in the Milky Way with 40 million L☉, but the luminosity has been revised later only 2 million L☉.

Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri)	44.13±0.84	AD

Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris)	37.5	AD	The current northern pole star.

R136a1	28.8–35.4	AD	Also on record as the most massive and luminous star known (315 M☉ and 8.71 million L☉).

Arcturus (Alpha Boötis)	25.4±0.2	AD	Brightest star in the northern hemisphere.

HDE 226868	20–22	The supergiant companion of black hole Cygnus X-1. The black hole is around 500,000 times smaller than the star.

VV Cephei B	13–25	The B-type main sequence companion of VV Cephei A.

Sun	1	The largest object in the Solar System. Reported for reference

Sentence(s)

The Mu Cephei one of the largest stars.

final_sentence: The Mu Cephei one of the largest stars.