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Input Junkie - A sense of scale
June 17th, 2011
07:48 am

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A sense of scale


I keep watching this again and again, so you folks might be fascinated, too.

Unless I've lost track, the largest stars are a little under half the diameter of the solar system.

Link thanks to [info]spacelem.

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From:[info]theweaselking
Date:June 17th, 2011 01:06 pm (UTC)
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It depends on how you define "half the diameter". But if VY Canis Majoris were where the Sun is, it would touch Saturn.

Edited at 2011-06-17 01:06 pm (UTC)
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From:[info]nancylebov
Date:June 17th, 2011 01:20 pm (UTC)
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Or perhaps how you define "Solar System". I used 40 AU because I still want to include Pluto.
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From:[info]orawnzva
Date:June 19th, 2011 03:40 pm (UTC)
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Or, apparently, on how you define the "surface" of a star — the "surface" layer of VY Canis Majoris is much less dense than parts of the Sun that are considered to be "outside" it.
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From:[info]thnidu
Date:June 17th, 2011 02:04 pm (UTC)
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OMFG. Boosting. Then off to work.
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From:[info]chomiji
Date:June 17th, 2011 02:42 pm (UTC)
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Wow, those are some big stars!

You're right, that's mesmerizing.



Edited at 2011-06-17 02:42 pm (UTC)
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From:[info]vvalkyri
Date:June 17th, 2011 03:44 pm (UTC)
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wow. just wow.
I remember Powers of 10, but I don't think I've ever seen something with star sizes.
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From:[info]richardthinks
Date:June 17th, 2011 03:53 pm (UTC)
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I've seen comparative scale charts that went up to Betelgeuse before, but this one just keeps going!

A star that extends to the orbit of Saturn.
...
...
...

I was going to comment that all this big stars are red giants, right? But then the wikipedia article on canis majoris made me realise I know nothing and should shut up. Still, I love that we're not really sure if it would extend to the orbit of Saturn or just Mars.
From:[info]bemused_leftist
Date:June 19th, 2011 04:19 am (UTC)
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I was more interested in the perspective on the Terran continents. Is it looking down on the North Pole or what?
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From:[info]lethargic_man
Date:June 21st, 2011 05:53 pm (UTC)
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You might like this, which I've just been pointed at; it's like an interactive "Powers of Ten".
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