The Universe contains an astonishing variety of planets and stars, billions of them still unknown to humanity. Below, we present some of the most well-known and largest stars and planets, offering an incredible comparison of sizes that helps us realize how small we are in the vast cosmos.
Our planet Earth easily surpasses Mercury and Mars in size, but it is only slightly larger than Venus. However, Earth becomes small when compared to the giants of the Solar System, especially Jupiter, the largest planet in our system.
Jupiter vs. The Sun
Despite its size, Jupiter is barely a "marble" compared to the Sun, whose massive size and volume dominate our system. But when placing the Sun next to other stars, we see that it is still much smaller.
The Sun vs Sirius
The Sun is surpassed in size by Sirius, the brightest star in our night sky. Sirius is much larger than the Sun, but it is not the largest known star.
Sirius and the Great Stars
Sirius, although impressive, seems tiny when compared to other giant stars such as Pollux, Arcturus, and Aldebaran. The latter, Aldebaran, is even larger than Sirius, but it still isn’t the largest star in the Universe.
Aldebaran vs Rigel
Aldebaran, while impressive, is smaller than Rigel, the brightest star in the Orion constellation. However, Rigel still does not hold the title of the largest star.
Rigel vs Antares, and Betelgeuse
Rigel loses the title to even larger stars like Antares and Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse is known for its colossal size, but even it is surpassed by the star Canis Majoris.
Canis Majoris and the Star Throne
Canis Majoris held the title of the largest known star for a long time. However, every so often, new hyper-giant stars are discovered that challenge our limits of understanding.
Recent Discoveries
After the discovery of Canis Majoris, debates arose about whether other stars, such as Westerlund 1-26, could be even larger. However, the discovery of UY Scuti positioned it as the largest known star for a time, until Stephenson 2-18 appeared, which currently, according to many experts, holds the title of the largest known star to date at the time of this publication.
