A dying star so large it would swallow our entire inner solar system
In short: Located 160,000 light-years away, the red hypergiant WOH G64 is undergoing a violent terminal collapse. This video explores the terrifying scale of this celestial titan and what happens when its core finally gives out.
WOH G64 is currently shedding its outer layers—its literal "flesh"—into space due to intense internal radiation pressure, creating a dense cocoon of dust. Its radius reaches 1,540 solar radii (about 1.07 billion km). To put this in perspective, if placed at the center of our Solar System, it would engulf Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, extending all the way to Jupiter's orbit.
Despite its size, the star is unstable and losing millions of tons of mass every second. When its fuel eventually expires, it will trigger a supernova so powerful that it will outshine the entire Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy for several weeks before collapsing into a black hole.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: This Star Is Actually So Big It's Terrifying!
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