Hypergiant Star HR 5171
HR 5171, the brightest star just below the center of this wide-field image, is a yellow hypergiant, a very rare type of star with only a dozen known in our galaxy. Its size is over 1300 times that of the Sun and makes it one of the ten largest stars found so far. Observations with ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer have shown that it is actually a double star, with the companion in contact with the main star.
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Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 5171, astronomical, astronomy, body, celestial, cosmos, deep, double, dust, evolution, exploration, galactic, galaxies, galaxy, heavenly, hr, hr5171, hypergiant, nebula, nebulae, object, planetary, radiation, science, sky, space, star, stellar, universe, wind
