The dark space, which is in constant expansion, is the home of the largest celestial bodies known, everything in it is of family size, so, in that infinite space we can find the giant stars of the universe, But Do you know why they bear that name?
Let's say that it is obvious that its size has a lot to do with it, however there are a few characteristics that lead it to be called giant stars of the universe. In space not only do the planets in the void, we can also say that there is a lot of room for our human doubts.
The main characteristic of these giants of the universe lies in the light they emit, since its luminosity is between 10 and 1.000 times greater than that of our sun, as well as its radius is between 10 and 100 times the sun radio. To learn more about the star luminosity, it is interesting to explore how these properties affect classification.
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The giant stars of the universe are located outside the scale known as the "Main Sequence", this is the region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram where most of the stars are located. celestial bodiesIf you want to better understand this diagram and its usefulness, you can read more about the characteristics of stars.
This is how these stars are called "main sequence". the coldest stars of this section are the red dwarfs, which have a lower mass.
While the stars that are located in higher temperatures are the supermassive blue giants. The Hertzsprung–Russell diagram It is a statistical scheme that shows the effective temperature of stars based on their luminosity, so bodies in space can be classified, in this case, the giant stars of the universe.
You can learn more about it at: Formation, Evolves and types of galaxies
But do you know how the giant stars of the universe are formed?
A star in the universe becomes part of the giant family when all the hydrogen available for fusion in its core has been exhausted and, as a consequence, the star is abandoned. main sequenceIf you want to delve deeper into the life cycle of stars, you can read about all about the stars.
It is important to note that a star with an initial mass of less than 0,4 solar masses will never qualify as a giant star. These celestial bodies Their interior is mixed by convection and therefore they continue to fuse hydrogen until it is completely extinguished within the star.
It is at that moment when we can say that they become a White dwarf composed essentially of helium. However, theory predicts that the duration of this process is greater than the current age of the universe.
Our sun is a star that is in the main sequence classification, it has been there for 4.500 billion years, and it is estimated that it will remain in this classification for another 4.500 billion years. However, when the supply of hydrogen to the core runs out, our Sun will begin to expand and its surface will cool down, resulting in it becoming a red universe giant star.
Fix your gaze to the sky and detail the giant stars of the universe
If you look up at the sky we could tell that they are all about the same size, some twinkle more than others, and some others waving past leaving a bright trail on the table: the shooting stars; all this if we look at night, in the light of the cold moon.
However, during the day the Sun is the nearest star to our planet Earth, but the star is still small compared to others. The largest star in the known universe is 165 thousand times larger than the sun.
But our sun is big enough to contain 1.000.000 stars from the earth size in its radius. Astronomers use the volume of the sun as a reference to measure the size of other stellar bodies. In addition, you can learn more about the largest star in the Milky Way and its importance in the universe.
The three popular giant stars of the universe
They are not one in a million, but among billions of billions in the universe, however, they are the best known and closest to our solar system, it is important that we bear in mind that these are scientific discoveries according to our scientific era, and that it is limited to them, they are a mere reference of what we have a deeper knowledge of today.
1). Oops Scuti
UY Scuti is a red supergiant star located in the Scutum constellation, the shield; its size is approximately 1.708 times larger than our Sun, this figure is an estimate calculated based on indirect metric parameters. To find out more about What are nebulae? and its relationship with the stellar cycle, it is advisable to explore its formation.
This is not a completely accurate measurement, however, the margin of error is 192 solar radii. Either way, even in its smallest version, it remains the largest star known and studied to date.
To have an imaginary or notion of his greatness, within this star would enter 5.000 million of our sun.
two). WOH G2
In a second step of the giant stars of the universe is WOH G64, this is one of the largest identified by man, it is more than 160.000 light years away of our planet Earth, for this reason scientists are trying to measure its exact radius.
This giant stellar body is not located in our Milky Way. It orbits a neighboring galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud. The size of this star is estimated at 1.540 times that of the sun. The difficulty in measuring exact perimeter It is due to a dust field around the star, which makes it extremely difficult for astronomers to establish a precise radius of the star.
In this sense, it's fascinating to know how these giants are formed. You can read more about the process at planetary nebulae.
3). R.W. Cephei
In this case we will describe one of the hypergiant stars in the universe, it is orange, these are the ones with the most light capacity in our universe. This heavenly giant It is located in the constellation Cepheus, and is 535 times larger than our Sun.
If we want to have an approximate or reference of the size of this star, we can say that its size is greater than that of the orbit of Jupiter, that is, the drawing that this planet makes in its translation movement around the sun.
Both its brightness and its spectral type are variable, in this sense, probably also its diameter, so the size quoted is approximate only by scientists.
For lovers of the cosmos, keep in mind that the largest stars are not always the ones with the largest masses, nor vice versa. For example: R136a1 is the most massive star and rate as one star hypergiant, however, its radius is 35,4 solar radii.
As scientific advances develop on our planet, as observers of the universe, computer technology becomes more advanced and becomes the cornerstone of cosmic research. To explore more about the mysteries of the universe, you can read the origin of comets.
Thus, then, we advance in the creation of increasingly powerful telescopes, through the help and international development, united as one species, to discover what is hidden in the billions of galaxies floating in deep space. Perhaps these giant stars of the universe could make us realize the deepest unknown that gravitates in our minds, are we alone in this giant space where we live?
Keep reading our articles and become a expert cosmonaut, share your experience with your friends, so maybe, together, discover a new giant star in the universe.
