VY Canis Majoris
Position on the route: 170/181 · level needed 3100 · journey (Mk0 engine) 455.6 h
By the numbers
| Distance | ≈ 3,900 light-years |
|---|---|
| Radius | ≈ 1,400 Suns |
| Mass | ≈ 17 Suns |
| Type | red hypergiant |
The story
VY Canis Majoris is a red hypergiant in Canis Major about 3,900 light-years away. With a radius around 1,400 times the Sun’s it is among the largest stars known; in the Sun’s place it would reach past Jupiter’s orbit. Yet its mass is only about 17 Suns: a very thin ball of gas.
It is near the end of its life and throws off a ten-thousandth of a solar mass a year, with a huge nebula around it. It is expected to explode as a supernova or hypernova within a few hundred thousand years. Size estimates vary with the method of measurement.
Missions
- Hubble, VLTI, ALMA: the nebula and surface
Colony note
No surface; a very distant, heavily shielded station.
☠ One of the largest known stars: no surface, and a deadly stellar wind. Only a very distant, heavily shielded station.
What probes bring back
- About 3,900 light-years away: a red hypergiant in Canis Major with a radius around 1,400 times the Sun’s. Among the largest stars known, yet a very thin ball of gas.
- It throws off roughly a ten-thousandth of a solar mass a year; the nebula around it is huge. It is expected to explode within a few hundred thousand years.