Friday, July 13, 2012

Canis Majoris- A Star Bigger Than Tom Cruise

So you think the post about what you had for lunch at McDonalds is important enough for the world to care about do you? Or perhaps you think someone as famous as Tom Cruise really matters. Well lets put something into perspective shall we in terms of the universe.

When we boil it down we are just are not even a single atom on a speck of dust in the existence the Red Hypergiant star known as VY Canis Majoris in the constellation Canis Major which is 4,900 light years away. Or 28,812,000,000,000,000 miles away if you care to fly there.

Canis Majoris is almost 2 BILLION miles in diameter.  Just to put that into perspective a little our own sun which is the biggest object in our solar system is only 864,327 miles in diameter. I included a photo of what the sun would look like in comparison next to Canis Majoris

Now Canis Majoris was as compared to the largest thing on Earth it would be the height of Mt. Everest which is 6 miles tall and the Earth would be a mere golf ball next to it.  You could fit 7 QUADRILLION earths inside Canis Majoris. That is equivalent to the state of Texas covered in golf balls 22 inches deep.


How significant do you feel now?


1 comment:

  1. Absolute, total insanity. I feel sorry for anything that's nearby when that thing goes. It's going to be spectacular.

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