The Largest Star Ever Found Is Absolutely Terrifying

Stephenson 2-18 is one of the largest stars ever measured, a red supergiant so vast that it pushes against the theoretical limits of stellar physics. This video explores how Stephenson 2-18 earned that title, why its true size is still debated, and what this cosmic giant reveals about how massive stars live and die.

In this deep-dive, you’ll learn how astronomers discovered Stephenson 2-18 hidden behind thick interstellar dust, why it’s invisible to optical telescopes, and how infrared observations reshaped our understanding of its scale. The episode explains how scientists estimate stellar size using luminosity and temperature, why distance uncertainties matter so much, and how Stephenson 2-18 may exceed what standard stellar evolution models predict. You’ll also see how its extreme mass loss, powerful stellar winds, and surrounding shells of gas and dust signal that this star is nearing the end of its life.

Key moments include:
• How Stephenson 2-18 compares to our solar system in size, engulfing the orbits of multiple planets
• Why astronomers still debate whether it truly belongs to the Stephenson 2 cluster
• What its future supernova, or possible collapse into a black hole, might look like

This channel explores extreme objects and phenomena in the universe, using current research to explain how cosmic giants challenge what we think we know about space.

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