R Doradus
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R Doradus (also called HD 29712) is the name of a red giant Mira variable star in the far-southern constellation Dorado, although visually it appears more closely associated with the constellation Reticulum. Its distance from Earth is 200 ± 25 light-years. Having an angular diameter of 0.057 ± 0.005 arcsec, and given its distance, it is currently believed to be the star with the largest apparent size as viewed from Earth. The diameter of R Doradus is 515 ± 70 million km or 370 ± 50 times the diameter of the Sun. If placed at the center of the Solar System, the orbit of Mars would be entirely contained within the star.
The visible magnitude of R Doradus varies between 4.8 and 6.6, which makes it just about visible to the naked eye, but in the infrared it is one of the brightest star in the sky. Thus, even though its mass is about one solar mass, its total luminousity is 6500 ± 1400 times that of the sun.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ European Southern Observatory (1997-03-11). THE BIGGEST STAR IN THE SKY. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
