The largest star that has ever been found is pretty damn big!

[Mike_Yates]

UY Scuti makes our sun look like a beach ball next to the moon.

That's pretty fucking big.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UY_Scuti

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Comparison_of_planets_and_stars_%28sheet_by_sheet%29_%28Apr_2015_update%29.png/1280px-Comparison_of_planets_and_stars_%28sheet_by_sheet%29_%28Apr_2015_update%29.png

 

[Aglaopheme]

You ought to read the link you posted.

 

[pensivepoet]

Is Planet X still hurtling at us ignoring the laws of space?
That'd be way cool

 

[1sickbastard]

Is Planet X still hurtling at us ignoring the laws of space?
That'd be way cool

Nah, it's too busy hiding behind (take your pick) Jupiter, Saturn and/or Sol.

UY Scuti's radius is estimated at nearly 16 AU's.

For reference, Earth orbits Sol at 1 AU.
Saturn's orbit (aphelion) close to 10 AU.
Neptune's orbit averages about 30 AU.

That it hasn't collapsed inside it's own Schwarzchild Limit (aka the event horizon of a black hole) is pretty amazing.

 

[Mike_Yates]

That's just the biggest one we've found so far, it's a mathematical certainly that they are MUCH larger ones within the universe.

I wonder if there is some kind of theoretical limit as to the maximum size/mass that a star can have without collapsing into itself under it's immense gravity and turning into a black hole.

 

[Aglaopheme]

Now it makes sense.

 

[1sickbastard]

That's just the biggest one we've found so far, it's a mathematical certainly that they are MUCH larger ones within the universe.

I wonder if there is some kind of theoretical limit as to the maximum size/mass that a star can have without collapsing into itself under it's immense gravity and turning into a black hole.

It's not about mass, per se.
Density is a factor.
Also, there's the balance between the pressure of the fusion reactions within the star versus the force of gravity, which itself depends on which elements are fusing (which is related to the star's density) UY /Scuti's radius makes me think it's mostly lighter elements, some hydrogen, probably a lot of helium.

Its mass is estimated at only 25-40 times the mass of Sol.

 

[Hypoxia]

A big star?

Bigger than fat Elvis?

Mind-boggles.

 

[JohnnySavage]

My dick is bigger,

 

[1sickbastard]

A big star?

Bigger than fat Elvis?

Mind-boggles.

Bigger than Brando!

 

[BotanyBoy]

Bigger than Brando!

No way dude, Brando has electrolytes!!


It's what plants crave...

 

[JinSun]

My dick is bigger,

The comma was a power play. I'm diamonds.

 

[Rachel_X]

It's not about mass, per se.
Density is a factor.
Also, there's the balance between the pressure of the fusion reactions within the star versus the force of gravity, which itself depends on which elements are fusing (which is related to the star's density) UY /Scuti's radius makes me think it's mostly lighter elements, some hydrogen, probably a lot of helium.

Its mass is estimated at only 25-40 times the mass of Sol.

Maybe it's hollow.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

There's a bigger one right around the corner...

 

[Rachel_X]

Trying to quote yourself Tori.

If that's a reference to something, I don't get it.

 

[JinSun]

If that's a reference to something, I don't get it.

You're either on to it or not.

 

[Hypoxia]

Maybe it's hollow.

It's YUGE!

Maybe other YUGE! stuff is hollow too.

(That is a thinly veiled contemporary political reference.)

Anyway, big stars are OK, I guess. But a galactic core collapsing into a monstrous black hole? Now THAT is YUGE-A-MUNGOUS!! And damn classy.