Star size

[cjsmith]

This video of star sizes in scale is mindbending.

Me: "Wow. ... Whoa."
Rob: "It's the Total Perspective Vortex."

Betelgeuse is large enough and close enough that Hubble has taken a photo of it and resolved it as more than a point source.

(Those last ones in the video are no longer the largest known stars. VY Canis Majoris is now the largest known star, a red hypergiant over two light-hours in diameter. Size comparison image on this blog.)

Comments

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Yeah, once you get away from the main sequence stars can get amazingly huge.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I also loved the color contrasts as the video progressed. I'm used to our sun being depicted as yellow, but then Sirius, Rigel, and Betelgeuse* were dramatically colored, which is nifty. Color is especially intriguing for me, as I've recently discovered (through astronomy) that my eyes are not as well-equipped with color sensors as some folks' eyes. I DON'T see star color. I do see very well in dim light, but if somebody says "to the left of the red star," I've got no clue.

* I had no idea there was such a different, but also widely used, spelling for Betelgeuse.