Top list · 10 entries
10 of the Largest Known Stars
Red hypergiants so large their 'surface' would swallow the outer planets. Every radius carries big error bars — rankings shuffle between studies, and this list says so honestly.
Stephenson 2-18
~2,150 solar radii (estimate) — the current, contested record-holder
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02
WOH G64
~1,540 R☉ · a dusty monster in the LMC
03
UY Scuti
~1,700 R☉ (older estimate; likely smaller) — long the famous 'biggest star'
04
VY Canis Majoris
~1,420 R☉ · the best-studied hypergiant
05
Mu Cephei (the Garnet Star)
~1,260 R☉ · visibly deep red in binoculars
06
V354 Cephei
~1,140 R☉
07
RW Cephei
~1,000 R☉ · recently dimmed like Betelgeuse
08
KY Cygni
~1,030 R☉
09
Antares
~680 R☉ · the biggest star most people have seen
10
Betelgeuse
~760 R☉ · the one that will explode 'soon'
Radii are literature estimates (±15% or worse); order is indicative, not settled.